Environmentally informed virtual water trade: a framework to assess water-food-energy nexus at the regional scale

环境知情的虚拟水贸易：评估区域范围内水-食品-能源关系的框架

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-05552
• 负责人: Faramarzi, Monireh
• 金额: $ 3.5万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=715601
• 关键词: Environmentally; informed; virtual; water; trade

Many water security challenges occur predominantly at regional scale, yet beyond the borders of river basins and local communities. The virtual water trade (VWT) is a promising regional water management approach that promotes the flow of water-intensive commodities from water-abundant to water-scarce regions. However, the majority of VWT studies 1) have been conducted at the global level, only concerning the international food trade, where studies of water-food-energy (WFE) dynamics at the sub-country level are not considered; 2) have not systematically studied spatiotemporal dynamics of water quantity differentiating green from blue, and fossil from renewable water in the assessment of both water supply and consumption; and 3) have not assessed the environmental impacts of VWT including water quality degradation in the same analytical framework. All of these theoretical gaps have contributed to a large uncertainty in the feasibility of the VWT in regional water management. I propose to study the virtual water issues at the sub-country level, by taking Canadian Prairie Region as a case study. I plan to examine an "environmentally informed VWT (EI-VWT)" by considering natural physical processes and anthropogenic factors affecting the WFE and trade relationships. The short-term (5 yrs) goal of my DG research program is to adapt ecohydro(geo)logical models, to assess dynamics of water, food, and trade relationships; and to develop a framework to examine the feasibility of EI-VWT as a management option at the sub-country level. My specific objectives are the spatial explicit and temporal assessments of: (1) Water supply, physical crop yield, and crop water consumption discriminating blue, green, fossil and renewable resources at a regional scale. Multi-model comparison and integration/improvement of the key processes into regional models including glacier, frozen soil, groundwater interactions, as well as climate change impacts will be tested. (2) Water quality, including nutrient and sediment load and transport, at the regional scale. (3) Water, food, and trade dynamics for the examination of EI-VWT. The long-term (5-15 yrs) goal of my HQP driven research program is to advance the framework by integration of 1) processes related to energy production and trade, and their cumulative impacts; 2) socioeconomic factors and local conditions that are important in shaping regional WFE, and trade policies; and 3) extreme events under both high frequency and lower frequency climatic oscillations. The proposed research will address knowledge gaps that of an integrated understanding of water quantity and quality processes and relation with dynamics of WFE trade in the examination of VWT strategy for regional water management. This study is unique one of the first in VWT literature in terms of comprehensiveness, integration, and approaches examined in an export-oriented region of diverse natural and economic conditions (e.g. Western Canada).

许多水安全挑战主要发生在区域范围内，但超出了河流流域和当地社区的边界。虚拟水贸易（VWT）是一种有前景的区域水资源管理方法，可促进水密集型商品从水资源丰富的地区流向水资源匮乏的地区。然而，大多数 VWT 研究 1) 是在全球层面进行的，仅涉及国际食品贸易，没有考虑次国家层面的水-食品-能源 (WFE) 动态研究； 2）在供水和消费评估中，尚未系统研究区分绿水和蓝水、化石水和可再生水的水量时空动态； 3) 尚未在同一分析框架中评估 VWT 的环境影响，包括水质恶化。所有这些理论差距导致 VWT 在区域水管理中的可行性存在很大的不确定性。 我建议以加拿大草原地区为案例研究次国家层面的虚拟水问题。我计划通过考虑影响 WFE 和贸易关系的自然物理过程和人为因素来研究“环境知情 VWT (EI-VWT)”。 我的 DG 研究计划的短期（5 年）目标是调整生态水文（地质）模型，评估水、食物和贸易关系的动态；制定一个框架来审查 EI-VWT 作为次国家一级管理选项的可行性。我的具体目标是对以下方面进行空间明确和时间评估： (1) 区域范围内区分蓝色资源、绿色资源、化石资源和可再生资源的供水、农作物产量和农作物耗水量。将测试多模型比较以及将关键过程整合/改进到区域模型中，包括冰川、冻土、地下水相互作用以及气候变化影响。 (2) 区域尺度的水质，包括养分和沉积物负荷及输送。 (3) EI-VWT 审查的水、食品和贸易动态。 我的 HQP 驱动的研究计划的长期（5-15 年）目标是通过整合 1）与能源生产和贸易及其累积影响相关的流程来推进该框架； 2) 对制定区域 WFE 和贸易政策非常重要的社会经济因素和当地条件； 3）高频和低频气候振荡下的极端事件。 拟议的研究将解决在审查 VWT 区域水管理战略时对水量和水质过程的综合理解以及与 WFE 贸易动态的关系方面的知识差距。这项研究在全面性、整合性和在不同自然和经济条件的出口导向型地区（例如加拿大西部）进行研究的方法方面是 VWT 文献中第一个独特的研究之一。