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: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=750894
• 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，但超越了河流流域和当地社区的边界。虚拟水贸易是一种很有前途的区域水管理办法，可促进水密集型商品从水资源丰富的地区流向缺水地区。然而，大多数的VWT研究1）是在全球范围内进行的，只涉及国际粮食贸易，而没有考虑次国家层面的水-粮食-能源（WFE）动态研究; 2）在水的供应和消费评估中，没有系统地研究区分绿色和蓝色、化石和可再生水的水量时空动态;以及3）没有在同一分析框架内评估VWT的环境影响，包括水质退化。所有这些理论上的差距都导致了区域水资源管理中VWT可行性的巨大不确定性。 本文以加拿大大草原地区为例，从次国家层面研究虚拟水问题。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“环境知情的VWT（EI-VWT）”。 我的DG研究计划的短期（5年）目标是适应生态水文（地理）逻辑模型，评估水，食品和贸易关系的动态;并制定一个框架，以研究EI-VWT作为一个管理选项在国家以下一级的可行性。我的具体目标是空间明确和时间的评估：（1）供水，物理作物产量，作物耗水量区分蓝色，绿色，化石和可再生资源在区域尺度上。将测试多模型比较和关键过程的集成/改进，包括冰川，冻土，地下水相互作用以及气候变化影响。(2)区域一级的水质，包括营养物和沉积物负荷和迁移。(3)水，食品和贸易动态的EI-VWT检查。我的HQP驱动的研究计划的长期（5-15年）目标是通过整合1）与能源生产和贸易相关的过程及其累积影响来推进框架; 2）在塑造区域WFE和贸易政策方面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。拟议的研究将解决知识的差距，水的数量和质量过程的综合理解和WFE贸易的动态在检查VWT战略区域水管理的关系。这项研究是独一无二的-在VWT文献的全面性，整合，并在不同的自然和经济条件（如加拿大西部）的出口导向型地区的方法进行了检查方面的第一个。