Virtual Water Export Research Articles

Assessing China's “developing a water-saving society” policy at a river basin level: A structural decomposition analysis approach

Abstract China's “Developing a Water-saving Society” policy is an ambitious water conservation strategy. However, there has been little evidence of the policy's effectiveness in terms of saving water at a river basin level. In this paper, we used a basin-scale hydroeconomic input-output model to calculate the water consumption (WC) by producers and consumers (WCp and WCc), respectively in the first pilot area for implementation of this policy, the Heihe River Basin, which belongs to an arid area in inland China. The results show that, after implementation of the policy, WCc decreased sharply but WCp only decreased slightly. A structural decomposition analysis revealed that decreased water consumption intensity played an important role in reducing water consumption. However, this effect was largely offset by the increasing exports of virtual water in goods and services. Our results suggest that in arid river basins, measures in saving water must be accompanied with a cap on total water consumption which is set in accordance with the local water endowments and consideration of environmental water requirement.

Water footprint characteristic of less developed water-rich regions: Case of Yunnan, China

Rapid industrialization and urbanization pose pressure on water resources in China. Virtual water trade proves to be an increasingly useful tool in water stress alleviation for water-scarce regions, while bringing opportunities and challenges for less developed water-rich regions. In this study, Yunnan, a typical province in southwest China, was selected as the case study area to explore its potential in socio-economic development in the context of water sustainability. Both input-output analysis and structural decomposition analysis on Yunnan's water footprint for the period of 2002–2012 were performed at not only an aggregated level but also a sectoral level. Results show that although the virtual water content of all economic sectors decreased due to technological progress, Yunnan's total water footprint still increased as a result of economic scale expansion. 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 were the major virtual water exporters, and textile & clothing sector and construction sector were the major importers. Based on local conditions, policy suggestions were proposed, including economic structure and efficiency optimization, technology promotion and appropriate virtual water trade scheme. This study provides valuable insights for regions facing “resource curse” by exploring potential socio-economic progress while ensuring water security.

Trade in Virtual Water: Do Property Rights Matter?

This paper examines the determinants of virtual water trade – embodied in agriculture products – and tests the relationship between property rights and the export of water-intensive agricultural products. Using two different measures of property rights protection, I show that countries with weaker property rights have an apparent comparative advantage in the export of water-intensive products. After controlling for economic size, natural resource endowments, bilateral trade determinants and potential reverse causality, the trade flow of virtual water is negatively and significantly correlated with the property rights index of the exporting country. The results are robust across different estimation methods. Holding other factors constant, a 10% increase in the property rights index of a country is associated with a 10%-17% decrease in its virtual water export, whereas a 10% increase in the natural resource protection indicator corresponds to a 1.4%-2% decrease in a country’s virtual water export.

Analysis of Blue and Green Water Consumption at the Irrigation District Scale

The concepts of virtual water and water footprint bring a new perspective for water management. Previous studies mainly focus on one type of water and the relationship between water footprint and water availability. In this study, three indicators were proposed to show water consumption and the influences of virtual water flows at the Hetao irrigation district, China, during 2001–2010, considering both blue and green water. Results indicate that the ratio of blue water footprint and blue water availability was 0.642 in 2010 and the value for green water was 0.148, coefficients on contribution of regional production on consumption in other areas were about 0.9, and coefficients on influences of trades from other regions to the district on regional water consumption were 0.528 (blue water) and 0.433 (green water), respectively. Government should promote water pricing policies that can encourage the adoption of irrigation technologies and water-saving practices. Besides, the adjustment of the crop sowing date or the cultivation of new varieties may be helpful in using more rainfall. Lastly, a compensation mechanism for virtual water export should be built in the future, and virtual water importing can be advocated. Before actions are taken, the possible influences and related constraints should be considered.

Crop Production, Export of Virtual Water and Water-saving Strategies in Arizona

Growing world population and the uncertain hazards that accompany climate change put an increasing pressure on the management and sustainability of scarce environmental resources, notably water. In spite of its water scarcity, the state of Arizona permits as much as 73% of its water to be consumed by a single sector, crop production. Since 79% of such crop production is not consumed in Arizona, it corresponds to exporting up to 67% of the water available in the state to the rest of the country and abroad. It has certain and glooming consequences on the availability of water for a state expected to see its population grow and its climate get drier. Based on input-output techniques, we simulate three scenarios aiming at saving 19% of the water available, a figure set by the first of them based on improving the efficiency of the current irrigation system. The same savings could also be reached by a twenty-seven-fold increase in the price of water or a 19.5% reduction in crop exports. Estimates indicate that the least costly solution is a more efficient irrigation system while export reduction is the second-best choice.

Virtual Water Flows at the County Level in the Heihe River Basin, China

Water scarcity in arid regions can be addressed by using the virtual water concept in water resources management. This research used a compiled county-level input–output table to analyze virtual water flows for the Heihe River Basin in 2012 by applying a multi-regional input–output (MRIO) model. The results showed that the Heihe River Basin is a net virtual water exporter at a scale of 1.05 billion m3, which accounts for one third of the total amount of the basin’s water resources. The midstream area of the basin imports 96.31% of virtual water (2.04 billion m3) and exports 88.84% of virtual water (0.94 billion m3). In contrast, the upstream and downstream parts have limited virtual water flows. The agricultural sector largely consumes water in each county; maize or wheat production accounts for approximately 50% of the total water consumption. For most sectors, the virtual water content from surface water is greater than that from groundwater. The ratio of virtual surface water to virtual groundwater ranges from 1.20 to 2.91. The results for the water stress index indicated that most counties experienced water stress due to maize production. Greater attention needs to be paid to the adaptation and assessment of virtual water strategies in arid regions.

Water Footprint of 65 Mid‐ to Large‐Sized U.S. Cities and Their Metropolitan Areas

AbstractConventional indicators of water use for urban areas account primarily for direct water use. In contrast, our objective here is to employ the water footprint (WF) concept and methodology to include the virtual or indirect water use to assess the production‐side and consumption‐side WF of 65 United States (U.S.) cities. The 65 cities include the largest metropolitan areas and some of the major mid‐sized cities in the U.S. We use metropolitan areas to define our city boundaries as this is the native spatial resolution of the main datasets used. To estimate the urban WFs, we integrated large and disparate datasets, including commodity flow (agricultural, livestock, and industrial commodities), water use, and socioeconomic data. By analyzing the estimated WF values, we found indirect water use accounts on average for 66% of the WF of consumption. We found some cities are net virtual water exporters (11 of 65) because they rely heavily on direct water uses or are heavy producers of industrial commodities. Also, WF patterns vary widely across the U.S. but regional patterns seem to emerge. For example, the dense cities of the U.S. northeast megaregion have a significantly low per capita WF relative to the other cities, while cities in the Gulf Coast megaregion have a significantly higher industrial WF of production and consumption. Furthermore, there is inequality in the WF of consumption where a few cities account for a disproportionate share of the total U.S. urban water uses.

Assessment of interstate virtual water flows embedded in agriculture to mitigate water scarcity in India (1996–2014)

AbstractIndia is the largest global freshwater user despite being highly water scarce. Agriculture is largest consumer of water and is most affected by water scarcity. Water scarcity is a persistent challenge in India, due to a gap in science and policy spheres. Virtual Water (VW) flows concept to mitigate water scarcity is at the science‐policy interface. The paper aims to address the gap in VW research in India by first analyzing the interstate VW‐flows embedded in food grains, and then linking these VW‐flows with the water scarcity situation in the states, and elements of state and national water policies for the postreforms, and recovery periods of India's agriculture. There were net water savings (WS) of 207.5 PL during 1996–2014, indicating sustainable flows at the national level. WS increased from 11.2 TL/yr (1996–2005) to 25931.7 TL/yr (2005–2014), with the increase in interstate movement of food grains, and yield. However, unsustainable flows are seen at subnational scale, as VW‐flows are from highly water‐scarce states in North to highly water‐scarce states in West and South. These flows are causing a concentration of water scarcity in water‐scarce zones/states. Net VW imports were found to be driven by larger population and net VW exports by arable land. Further, the absence of state water policy cripples water management. Therefore, the paper argues that there is a need to rethink policy decisions on agriculture at the national and state level by internalizing water as a factor of production, through VW research.

Water footprint of Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration in China

A rapidly expanding economy and increasing water demand for agricultural and industrial production is placing enormous stress on water quantity and the aquatic environment in Northern China, especially the so-called Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) urban agglomeration, home to over 110 million people producing 10% of China's overall GDP. Several studies have focused on energy consumption, air pollution, CO2 emissions and regional blue water footprint (WF) following release of the Jing-Jin-Ji Integration Strategy by the China government in 2013. However, a comprehensive assessment distinguishing blue, green and grey WF amongst different industrial sectors, ascertaining how WF transfers internally and beyond the region and final demand consumption is not available. We consider this to be crucial in understanding and addressing the deteriorating water situation in the Jing-Jin-Ji. In this study, we quantified the WF and virtual water flow on a sectoral basis for the year 2010 through coupling the multi-regional input-output model (MRIO) with WF assessment. The results showed that Beijing and Tianjin are net importers of green, blue and grey water from Hebei and other China provinces to support their needs. Conversely, Hebei exports all WF colors to Beijing, Tianjin and other provinces in China, and more than 60% of WF is transferred as virtual water. For the overall Jing-Jin-Ji region a small amount of blue water (2086 million m3) is exported, but huge amounts of green water (15,573 million m3) and grey water (30,620 million m3) are outsourced. A “Virtual Water Strategy” is one measure which could alleviate water stress at the regional scale, with consideration of financial compensation from water receiving regions made to water supplying regions in the context of achieving water management targets. We also found that physical water transfer to Jing-Jin-Ji could not balance virtual blue water exports, not to mention compensating for internal water consumption. Our research suggests that a continuation of an export-based economic development model will worsen Hebei's water stress. Reducing the dependency of Hebei's sectoral economy on export of water intensive and low value added agricultural products may be one strategy to reduce the pressure on regional water resources. In addition, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Integration Strategy drives industrial transfer from Beijing to Hebei resulting in the transfer of enterprises with low water utilization efficiency and producing heavy pollution. As a result, the government should consider incentivizing corporations to adopt technologies that reduce water consumption and pollution.

International virtual water flows from agricultural and livestock products of India

Indirect trade of water (virtual water) through export of crop and livestock products may pose a risk to water resources in the exporting country. Management strategies can be framed by identifying the partner countries and the current status of water resources in these countries. This study for the first time analyses the virtual water trade of India considering the specific virtual water contents of crop and livestock products from all partner countries from 1986 to 2013 (28 years). Average virtual water export of India is 59 Bm3/y and virtual water import is 32.6 Bm3/y. Net virtual water import (−26.4 Bm3/y) indicates India is a major exporter. Oil, cereals, industrial products (cotton, jute, hides etc.) and semi-luxury goods contribute to 79% of virtual water export. Oil and nuts contribute to 71% of virtual water import. Decline in virtual water trade due to slow economic growth and impact of floods are reflected in the inter-annual variation. Highest virtual water trade from India is to countries in Asia (74% as virtual water export and 59% as virtual water import). Virtual water import to India are mainly through palm oil, cashew nuts, soybean, sunflower oil, wheat, rubber, cotton and pulses. Water footprint of India has increased by 1.3 times in 28 years. Strategies for sustainable management of water resources in India and the partner countries should aim at reducing the import of water-intensive goods from water-scarce countries and increasing import of water-intensive goods from water-abundant countries.

Modeling the future evolution of the virtual water trade network: A combination of network and gravity models

Abstract The paper investigates how the topological features of the virtual water (VW) network and the size of the associated VW flows are likely to change over time, under different socio-economic and climate scenarios. We combine two alternative models of network formation –a stochastic and a fitness model, used to describe the structure of VW flows- with a gravity model of trade to predict the intensity of each bilateral flow. This combined approach is superior to existing methodologies in its ability to replicate the observed features of VW trade. The insights from the models are used to forecast future VW flows in 2020 and 2050, under different climatic scenarios, and compare them with future water availability. Results suggest that the current trend of VW exports is not sustainable for all countries. Moreover, our approach highlights that some VW importers might be exposed to “imported water stress” as they rely heavily on imports from countries whose water use is unsustainable.

Alleviating Water Scarcity in the North China Plain: The Role of Virtual Water and Real Water Transfer

The North China Plain is the scarcest water region in China. Its water security is closely related to interregional water movement, which can be realized by real water transfers and/or virtual water transfers. This study investigates the roles of virtual water trade and real water transfer using the Interregional Input-Output model. The results show that the region is receiving 19.4 billion m3/year of virtual water from the interregional trade, while exporting 16.4 billion m3/year of virtual water in the international trade. In balance, the region has a net virtual water gain of 3 billion m3/year from the outside. Its virtual water inflow is dominated by agricultural products from other provinces, totalling 16.6 billion m3/year, while its virtual water export is dominated by manufacturing sectors to other countries, totalling 11.7 billion m3/year. Both virtual water imports and real water transfers from the South to North Water Diversion Project are important water supplements for the region. The results of this study provide useful scientific references for the establishment of combating strategies to deal with water scarcity in the future.

Economic aspects of virtual water trade

Although water is rarely traded over long distances by itself, the total weight of the water consumed to produce traded commodities exceeds the weight of any other commodity traded in the world. This concept is known as virtual water trade. Although space-/time-/commodity-based quantification has been conducted extensively, the underlying causes of this peculiar feature have thus far received little exploration. Here, we use estimates of water consumption from a global hydrological model and statistical data related to food trade to elucidate three facts that explain the fundamental nature of virtual water trade with respect to alleviating water scarcity. First, we quantitatively illustrate the unique position of water among commodities based on its unit price and quantity of sales. Water has an extremely low unit price, and a tremendous volume of water is consumed per person each day. Second, we show that rich but water-scarce countries tend to reduce local water consumption by importing virtual water. Third, we demonstrate that nations characterized by net virtual water exports have higher water resources and income per capita and that no countries fall below a certain threshold with respect to both GDP and water resources. These points suggest that the virtual water trade is explained by economic characteristics of water and that sustainable development depends on promoting the co-development of poverty alleviation and water resource development.

Virtual industrial water usage and wastewater generation in the Middle East and North Africa 2011–2015

This study presents useful methods for quantifying the volumes of water usage, wastewater generation, virtual water export, and wastewater generated by export for six relevant export industries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. These export industries are based in: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Results show that approximately 4.26 × 109 m3 of water is used per annum and approximately 1.04 × 109 m3 of wastewater is generated during production by the studied industries in 2011. The difference (3.22 × 109 m3) between the used water and generated wastewater volumes is related to water evaporation or injection underground (oil well pressure maintenance). The net virtual water export of the six studied commodities for the year 2015 from MENA to EU28 [i.e., 28 countries in the European Union] is approximately 3.0 × 108 m3, which is equivalent to approximately 7.05% of the water used by those industries. For example, Saudi Arabia represents the largest net virtual water exporter (approximately 1.25 × 108 m3). Crude oil represents approximately 2.59 × 108 m3 of the net virtual water export; fertilizers represent 6.5 × 107 m3, while pig iron and olive oil represent 3.9 × 105, and 1.3 × 105 m3, respectively. The Saudi Arabian hydrological system is under the greatest pressure externally due to these exports to EU28, where the net virtual water export represents approximately 1.6% of the actual renewable water resources and desalination capacity of this country. In general, this study shows that, in terms of the grey water footprint (GWF), the pollution of water bodies caused by production (year 2011) is relevant for the crude oil, refined petroleum, and olive oil industries, whereas pollution caused by exports to EU28 countries (year 2015) is primarily related to the crude oil industry and olive oil mills. The GWFs for all the six industries caused by production and export are 111.8 × 109 (for the year 2011) and 18.7 × 109 m3/year (for the year 2015), respectively. One importance of the current work is that the specific water uses here could be compared to those of the same industries in developed countries. Based on these comparisons, decisions related to the need for water conservation can be made. The implementation of industrial water conservation in the MENA region could alleviate the pressure on water resources and help mitigate the water problems in the MENA. The time in which these results apply for production and export are the years 2011 and 2015, respectively.

Virtual Greenhouse Gas and Water Footprints Reduction: Emissions, Effluents and Water Flows Embodies in International Trade

In the globalised world the greenhouse gas emission and water consumption are becoming increasingly important indicators for policy and decision making. Development of footprint assessment techniques over the last decade has provided a set of tools for monitoring CO2 emissions, effluents and water flows in the world. An overview of the virtual CO2 and virtual water flow trends in the international trade based on consumption perspective is performed. Review of the recent presented results indicates that: (1) They are significant CO2 gaps between producer’s and consumer’s emissions, and US and EU have high absolute net imports CO2 budget. (2) Asian countries have very sizable and growing population and have started to develop fast. Among top ten most populous countries in the world are China, India, United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russian Federation (partly Asian), Japan. Malaysia has also substantial population growth. Their impact on the environment as well as on the global footprint virtual trade of Asian is substantial and growing. (3) Namely China is a leading exporting country and increasingly carries a load of GHG emission, effluents and virtual water export that are triggered due to consumption in other importing countries. (4) By imported products that are produced with lower carbon emission intensity and less water consumption then in the domestic industry, international trade can reduce global environmental pressure.

Intra-EU agricultural trade, virtual water flows and policy implications

The development of approaches to tackle the European Union (EU) water-related challenges and shift towards sustainable water management and use is one of the main objectives of Horizon 2020, the EU strategy to lead a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The EU is an increasingly water challenged area and is a major agricultural trader. As agricultural trade entails an exchange of water embodied in goods as a factor of production, this study investigates the region's water–food–trade nexus by analysing intra-regional virtual water trade (VWT) in agricultural products. The analysed period (1993–2011) comprises the enactment of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the year 2000. Aspects of the VWT that are relevant for the WFD are explored. The EU is a net importer of virtual water (VW) from the rest of the world, but intra-regional VWT represents 46% of total imports and 75% of total exports. Five countries account for 60% of total VW imports (Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium) and 65% of total VW exports (The Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium and Spain). Intra-EU VWT more than doubled over the period considered, while trade with extra-EU countries did not show such a marked trend. In the same period, blue VWT increased significantly within the region and net import from the rest of the world slightly decreased. Water scarce countries, such as Spain and Italy, are major exporters of blue water in the region. The traded volumes of VW have been increasing almost monotonically over the years, and with a substantial increase after 2000. The overall trend in changes in VWT does not seem to be in accordance with the WFD goals. This study demonstrated that VWT analyses can help evaluate intertwining effects of water, agriculture and trade policies which are often made separately in respective sectors.

Virtual water export and import in china’s foreign trade: A quantification using input-output tables of China from 2000 to 2012

Import virtual water is an effective way to alleviate water shortage. Since China is a country that suffers severely from the lack of water resources, it is badly needed to research in virtual water export and import in China's foreign trade. This paper conducted thorough research on these issues and lucubrated on the detailed destinations and origins of China’s virtual water export and import using the input-output model. Moreover, the factors that affect China’s virtual water trade have also been studied in this paper. The results indicated that: (1) from 2000 to 2012, the volume of virtual water export increased from 65.2 billion tons to 114.1 billion tons, and its import volume increased from 62.4 billion tons to 108.7 billion tons. China was a net exporter of virtual water; (2) the export of virtual water was mainly exported by sectors such as Textile &Garment and Leather Products, General Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing Industry, the import of virtual water was mainly imported by Agriculture, Petrochemical industry; (3) China has net exported large amounts of virtual water to developed areas such as the US, the European Union, and Japan, and has net imported from emerging economies and resource-oriented regions such as Taiwan (China), ASEAN, Brazil, Korea, Australia and Russia. Based on these conclusions, this paper proposed that China’s foreign trade structure needed to be adjusted to relieve the water shortage by the following methods the first is appropriately lower the export proportion of products from sectors such as Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products, Petrochemical Industry, which exported a large proportion of virtual water; the second is to enlarge the export proportion of products with low water consumption, such as service industry; the third is to make full use of the water saving effect of import.

Exporting water from the desert? An analysis of the virtual water content of Saudi Arabian agricultural exports

This study applies input-output analysis to evaluate and trace Saudi Arabia’s virtual water exports arising from exports of agricultural products. Saudi Arabia’s total virtual exports in 2011 were around 2.42 km3, mainly to neighbouring Arab countries. This amount is enough to meet the water demand of the country’s entire population. Agricultural exports seem economically beneficial only because they rely on groundwater; however, since the indirect cost of desalinating equivalent amounts of water for domestic purposes is much higher, a better strategy would have been to direct those water resources towards domestic needs.

China’s water footprint by province, and inter-provincial transfer of virtual water

Water shortages and the uneven distribution of water resources restrict China’s sustainable development. The concepts of virtual water and water footprints provide a new approach to alleviate regional shortages of Chinese water resources by the inter-provincial allocation of commercial water resources. In this study, an interregional input-output model was applied to quantitatively estimate the water footprint of each province in China and to quantify the inter-provincial transfer of virtual water. The results indicated that there was considerable diversity in the water footprints of the various provinces. Provinces with larger populations and greater GDP had larger water footprints, and developed regions had higher proportions of external water footprints. From the perspective of final demand, local consumption was the main factor driving the water footprints of these provinces. From the perspective of sectoral structure, the agricultural water footprint had a larger proportion in these provinces. The transfer of virtual water in China did not occur from regions with abundant water resources to those suffering from water shortages, but it generally occurred from west to east, from inland to coastal areas, and from underdeveloped to developed regions. Many water-deficient regions also had large net virtual water exports. Water shortages in China will be alleviated by the enhancement of industrial water-use efficiency in water-deficient regions, the transfer of water-intensive industries to regions with abundant water resources, and the development of tertiary industries with low water consumption.

Evaluation of external virtual water export and dependency through crop trade: an Asian case study

The aim of this study was to evaluate virtual water export through five crops (barley, rice, maize, soybeans, and wheat) in terms of the external virtual water rate, within and outside of Asia from 2000 to 2012, and in comparison with that within and outside the European Union (EU). The external virtual water rate indicates the proportion of virtual water export outside of a boundary. Approximately 46.9% of the green water exports and 40.9% of the blue water exports were discharged from Asia to non-Asian countries. For example, Thailand, which is the main exporter in Asia, exported 55.5% of the total virtual water exported to non-Asian countries, and Kazakhstan exported 63.8% of the total virtual water exported to European countries. In comparison, the external virtual water rate for the EU was 30.2% (green water) and 25.2% (blue water). The virtual water trade is also important to the main importers in Asia. We evaluated the virtual water dependency on exporters in East Asia of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. These three countries have a high dependency on virtual water imported from only a few exporters; thus, they should extend their virtual water trade boundary to include additional exporters. These results provide information necessary for the development of an integrated water strategy in Asia, and could convince the main Asian importers of the risks of serious dependency on foreign water resources.