Abstract
To facilitate water management and efficient utilization of water resources, the allocation of water rights to individual industries must be underpinned by a rational and defensible process. This study aimed to develop an improved fuzzy analytic hierarchy process method of allocating water rights to different industries and focused on Qing’an County, northeast China as a case study. An evaluation index system for allocation of initial water rights was established, and incorporated physiographic, societal, economic, and ecological criteria. The system classifies four categories of second-level indices, 14 third-level indices, and 30 fourth-level indices. The order of priority of the evaluation index was determined and the total weight of initial water rights for different industries was calculated using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process method. Results showed that the indices for the allocation of initial water rights ranked in descending order of their total weights coefficient were: (1) agricultural water rights: 0.9508; (2) residential water rights: 0.0240; (3) water rights for non-agricultural production: 0.0173; (4) environmental water rights: 0.0078. Agricultural water consumption accounted for the largest proportion of total water because the study area is a major grain production area. The study provides a theoretical basis for the allocation of water rights and water rights trading in northeast China.
Highlights
The rational allocation of water resources among industries plays an important role in promoting the coordinated development of the social economy
The present study provides a theoretical basis for the allocation of water rights to industries and the establishment of a sustainable water resources management system in northeast China
Of the non-agricultural production by the be set aside for non-agricultural production in the future to promote the development industry improved fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was larger than the weight of actual residential water right, withofvalues of and tertiary industry, which is conducive to industrial transformation
Summary
The rational allocation of water resources among industries plays an important role in promoting the coordinated development of the social economy. With the continuous year-by-year reduction in available water along with increases in water demand, a rational and defensible method of assigning water rights to individual industries is a priority. There is value in conducting research related to developing relevant systems and mechanisms for the allocation of water rights to alleviate water shortages among different industries. The allocation of initial water rights to different industries is an important component of water rights trading and water management to achieve efficient use of water resources and to promote high agricultural yield through appropriate water diversion and distribution [1,2]
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