A Study Of Regional Water Conservation Strategy Based On Water Footprint

Rapid economic development and urbanization brought a higher pressure on water resources in China.Virtual water and water footprint prove to be one useful tool to address water crises.However,through literature review,it is found that previous studies have failed to recognize the significance of less developed water-rich regions as a potential solution to the global water crisis.This study focuses on the sustainability of water footprint in less developed water-rich regions.In the methodology part,a regional accounting framework is proposed to perform a time-series analysis of aggregated and sectoral water footprints by adopting an Input-Output model,followed by a decomposition analysis to identify major driving factors,and an integrated multi-indicator analysis to assess regional sustainability.Then,a case study of Yunnan province in southwest China is conducted for the period of 2002-2012.Results show that Yunnan is a net virtual water exporter with high self-reliance on local water resources.From the sectoral perspective,sectors with large water footprints include construction sector,agriculture sector,food manufacturing&processing sector,and service sector,while metal products sector and food manufacturing&processing sector are the major virtual water exporters.The expansion of economic scale is a major positive effect for water footprint,while economic structure adjustment and technological improvement contribute to the mitigation.As for the sustainability of regional water footprint,regional water pressure increased with the decrease in available water resources.It once reached an unsustainable level,but returned to an acceptable level later.This study suggests that the platform development of water footprint databases and enhanced international collaboration would be desirable for global water resources management.Based on local conditions,policy suggestions are proposed,including a series of administrative,legal,technical and economic measures to improve the structure and efficiency of water use,along with public education and capacity building.This study provides valuable insights for less-developed water rich regions by promoting local socio-economic and environmental sustainability,and also for global water savings by proposing increasing water-intensive exports from the aforementioned regions to alleviate water crises.