The assessment of water stress with the Water Poverty Index in the Shiyang River Basin in China

Abstract

The paper is concerned with the application of the Water Poverty Index (WPI) as a holistic tool to assess the Shiyang River Basin’s water stress at the regional level. The basin is one of the inland river basins in China, with the degree of exploitation and utilization of water resources very high and water scarcity most severe. Appropriate indicators are needed to measure water stress for policy making and decision-making. The WPI links physical estimates of water availability with socio-economic factors associated with water scarcity. The study presents details of the methodology used, and the results show that the water stress in Minqin is the most severe in the basin, with a WPI value of 26.3, and that the water situation is the best in Jingchang with a WPI score of 66.9. In addition, measures in the basin are obtained of resources, access, capacity, use and environment.