TY - JOUR
T1 - Socioeconomic drivers of provincial-level changes in the blue and green water footprints in China
AU - Zhao, Dandan
AU - Liu, Junguo
AU - Yang, Hong
AU - Sun, Laixiang
AU - Varis, Olli
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41625001) and Aalto University. Additional support was provided by the Strategic Priority Researchs Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grantno. XDA20060402); High-level Special Funding of the Southern University of Science and Technology (Grant No. G02296302, G02296402). The paper was developed within the framework of the Panta Rhei Research Initiative of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences and the Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, Southern University of Science and Technology. The present work was partially developed, within the framework of the Panta Rhei Research Initiative, by the ?Water Scarcity Assessment: Methodology and Application? working group.
Funding Information:
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41625001) and Aalto University . Additional support was provided by the Strategic Priority Researchs Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grantno. XDA20060402); High-level Special Funding of the Southern University of Science and Technology (Grant No. G02296302, G02296402). The paper was developed within the framework of the Panta Rhei Research Initiative of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences and the Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control , Southern University of Science and Technology . The present work was partially developed, within the framework of the Panta Rhei Research Initiative, by the “Water Scarcity Assessment: Methodology and Application” working group.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s)
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Socioeconomic development has led to increased consumption of both blue and green water. Consequently, China is facing serious water scarcity issue. However, few studies have investigated interactions of blue and green water footprints, as well as driving forces underlying the changes in water footprints across provinces and sectors. To fill in this knowledge gap, we quantified the spatial-temporal dynamics of the blue and green water footprint (BWF and GWF, respectively), and analyzed the key factors that drive the provincial-level changes in BWF and GWF from 2002 to 2012. The analysis is facilitated by the approaches of multi-region input-output analysis and structural decomposition analysis, and we developed one decoupling index to quantify the water-economy relation and substitution between green and blue water. The results show that China's BWF averaged at 161 billion m3/yr, about one-third the size of the GWF. In addition, water scarce provinces in Northern China were moving towards decoupling between economic growth and blue water consumption, with GWF playing an increasingly important role. The changes in the WFs were mainly influenced by changes in affluence (final demand per capita), technological improvements (decreased direct water consumption intensity), and consumption pattern (composition of the final demand) rather than changes in the population and export. Technology improvement, consumption pattern shift and industrial structure adjustment contribute to WF reductions, thus help improve water security and sustainability in China. This study provides a new approach to analyze water-economy relations for water scarce countries.
AB - Socioeconomic development has led to increased consumption of both blue and green water. Consequently, China is facing serious water scarcity issue. However, few studies have investigated interactions of blue and green water footprints, as well as driving forces underlying the changes in water footprints across provinces and sectors. To fill in this knowledge gap, we quantified the spatial-temporal dynamics of the blue and green water footprint (BWF and GWF, respectively), and analyzed the key factors that drive the provincial-level changes in BWF and GWF from 2002 to 2012. The analysis is facilitated by the approaches of multi-region input-output analysis and structural decomposition analysis, and we developed one decoupling index to quantify the water-economy relation and substitution between green and blue water. The results show that China's BWF averaged at 161 billion m3/yr, about one-third the size of the GWF. In addition, water scarce provinces in Northern China were moving towards decoupling between economic growth and blue water consumption, with GWF playing an increasingly important role. The changes in the WFs were mainly influenced by changes in affluence (final demand per capita), technological improvements (decreased direct water consumption intensity), and consumption pattern (composition of the final demand) rather than changes in the population and export. Technology improvement, consumption pattern shift and industrial structure adjustment contribute to WF reductions, thus help improve water security and sustainability in China. This study provides a new approach to analyze water-economy relations for water scarce countries.
KW - Blue water footprint
KW - Green water footprint
KW - Interactions
KW - Multi-region input-output analysis
KW - Structural-decomposition analysis
KW - Water-economy relation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85113237314&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105834
DO - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105834
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85113237314
VL - 175
JO - Resources, Conservation and Recycling
JF - Resources, Conservation and Recycling
SN - 0921-3449
M1 - 105834
ER -
