Abstract
Decomposition of the urban water footprint can provide insight for water management. In this paper, a new decomposition method based on the log-mean Divisia index model (LMDI) was developed to analyze the driving forces of water footprint changes, attributable to food consumption. Compared to previous studies, this new approach can distinguish between various factors relating to urban and rural residents. The water footprint of food consumption in Xiamen City, from 2001 to 2012, was calculated. Following this, the driving forces of water footprint change were broken down into considerations of the population, the structure of food consumption, the level of food consumption, water intensity, and the population rate. Research shows that between 2001 and 2012, the water footprint of food consumption in Xiamen increased by 675.53 Mm3, with a growth rate of 88.69%. Population effects were the leading contributors to this change, accounting for 87.97% of the total growth. The food consumption structure also had a considerable effect on this increase. Here, the urban area represented 94.96% of the water footprint increase, driven by the effect of the food consumption structure. Water intensity and the urban/rural population rate had a weak positive cumulative effect. The effects of the urban/rural population rate on the water footprint change in urban and rural areas, however, were individually significant. The level of food consumption was the only negative factor. In terms of food categories, meat and grain had the greatest effects during the study period. Controlling the urban population, promoting a healthy and less water-intensive diet, reducing food waste, and improving agriculture efficiency, are all elements of an effective approach for mitigating the growth of the water footprint.
Highlights
Water scarcity is being globally recognized as a serious and growing concern [1]
Using the log-mean Divisia index model (LMDI) method, this study developed a new decomposition method for further analyzing the determinants of water footprint (WF) changes related to urban food consumption, considering the WF of both urban and rural residents
The blue WF is defined as the surface and ground water consumed during production, the green WF refers to productive precipitation, and the grey WF refers to the volume of water used to assimilate the load of pollutants, so that acceptable water quality standards are met [33]
Summary
Water scarcity is being globally recognized as a serious and growing concern [1]. More than half of the world’s population lives in cities, and the very rapid urban population growth expected in the few decades will place more stress on water resources [2,3]. China’s historically rapid urbanization has led to two-thirds of China’s 669 cities having water shortages [4]. Driven by human patterns of consumption, are responsible for 70% of freshwater consumption [8], illustrating a significant link between food consumption and water use. In order to address these critical problems concerning food and water, the water footprint (WF) attributable to urban food consumption has recently received increasing attention
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