A Theoretical And Empirical Study On Chinese Forest Products Virtual Water Trade

With the global economic development and soaring population, water resources have been becoming one of the significant strategic factors affecting world advance. In 1993, Tony Allan, a professor in London University, put forward and expanded the "virtual water" theory. This theory has broke a new way for settling global water balance and problems on lack of water resources in some countries. The researches of virtual water theory, virtual water trade and virtual water strategy have been also increasingly perfect. We are one of the thirteen poorest countries of per capita water resources. Consequently it is important for solving our water resources problems and improving the development of our national economy to study virtual water trade theory and implementing virtual water strategy. The researches on agricultural products virtual water have been improved. The quantization of agricultural products virtual water content has a complete model. However, forest products as a water-intensive product have few study of virtual water quantization. So this article, from virtual water theory, related concepts and academic basis, sums up a lot of researches made by foreign and domestic experts. It brings up quantizing methods of forest products taking examples from agricultural products, and astimates virtual water contents in forest and main timber forest products. Then combined with main forest products export and import trade volume in China from 2000 to 2009, it concludes virtual water trade volume of main forest products export and import in China, and explains the related conclusions. Finally, according to the theory of comparative advantage and combining with positive conclusion, it gives countermeasures and suggestions to direct our future forest products trade.