The Experts below are selected from a list of 309 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Bin Chen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Multi-regional input-output and linkage analysis for Water-PM2.5 nexus
Applied Energy, 2020Co-Authors: Tong Gao, Delin Fang, Bin ChenAbstract:Abstract Water shortage and air pollution are two major threatens to the rapid processes of urbanization and industrialization, whereas the current single-minded environmental management might ignore the hidden correlations between resources and emissions, and potentially lead to unintended effects. In order to bridge this gap, this study attempts to investigate the nexus between Water and particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), termed Water-PM2.5 nexus, via Environmentally-Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output model, combining with Integrated Nexus Strength metric and linkage analysis. The basic Water-PM2.5 coupling flows are quantified by Environmentally-Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output model, and the Integrated Nexus Strength metric is proposed to examine all economic sectors to reveal dominant Water-PM2.5 nexus nodes. Then the major Water-PM2.5 nexus sectors are evaluated through linkage analysis to characterize their consuming or supplying behaviors in Water-PM2.5 nexus. Finally, net Embodied Water and PM2.5 flows among these Water-PM2.5 nexus nodes are quantified to reveal crucial industrial chains. Using Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area of China as a case study, results show that energy supply sectors, metal-related sectors, agricultural sectors, and services sectors are major Water-PM2.5 nexus nodes. Sectors of “Electricity and Heating Power Production and Supply” are dominant suppliers of Embodied PM2.5 emissions and Water flows, while sectors of “Metal Production” and “Residential Service” are the major consumers. More than 70% of the net Embodied PM2.5 flows and around 20% of net Embodied Water flows lie in the industrial chains correlated with the sectors of “Smelting and Pressing of Metals ” and “Electricity and Heating Power Production and Supply” in Hebei province. This study provides a framework for the investigation of Water-PM2.5 nexus considering the economic and environmental correlations between sectors in the socio-economic systems, and enables the collaborative management of Water utilization and PM2.5 emission as well as facilitates the enaction of multi-tasking environmental policies.
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Ecological Network Analysis for Water Embodied in Global Agricultural Products Trade
DEStech Transactions on Environment Energy and Earth Sciences, 2019Co-Authors: Tong Gao, Delin Fang, Bin ChenAbstract:Global agricultural products trade, which is inextricably related with freshWater consumption, has been an important part of international economic network correlated with resource redistribution. This study estimates Embodied agricultural freshWater utilization of each countries along the global supply chain based on a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model. Monetary MRIO for year 2011, containing 188-economy, 26-sector, is conducted to expound global Embodied agricultural freshWater use flows as irrigation Water requirements of 160 crops in different regions are investigated. Furthermore, ecological network analysis (ENA) is performed to investigate the mutual interactions within economies as well as the dominant economies and pathways for Embodied freshWater consumption via agricultural product trade. Results show that, in 20112, several major large developed economies are the decisive drivers of Embodied agricultural freshWater utilization globally. The evaluation of the Water Embodied global agricultural products trade investigates that the Embodied Water mainly transfers from large developed economies, including USA, Canada, and Russian Federation, to developing regions like India and African Union. And another direction for Embodied Water flow is from the biggest developing regions China to regions like Korea, European Union, India and Mexico. This paper may provide a new perspective on formulating the global Water management strategies.
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Water-energy nexus based on modified multiregional input-output model within China
Energy Procedia, 2019Co-Authors: Pengfei Jin, Delin Fang, Bin ChenAbstract:Abstract Rapid urbanization and sustained population growth have led to shortage of Water resources, depletion of fossil energy and negative environmental impacts in China. Water utilization and energy consumption are intertwined in the socio-economic network, and their coupled relationships should be taken into accounts. Taking China’s 30 regions in 2012 as the case, better balance management of regional energy and Water can be achieved through a unified measurement framework based on exergy. By tracing the sum of energy and Water flow in different regions, a modified multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model based on exergy theory is established to expound the Water-energy nexus. The results show that Guangdong province held the top value among all the 30 regions, contributing 11.80% in national Embodied consumption, followed by Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang and Shanghai. Overall, the economically-developed coastal regions in the east are the top users. Shandong, Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu and Henan are the top five exporters of Embodied Water-energy from other regions. Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Beijing are the major importers of Embodied Water-energy. The main export–import pairs are Shandong-Guangdong, Hebei-Beijing, Hebei-Guangdong, and Hunan-Guangdong, indicating that there are strong connections between these pairwise regions. Furthermore, Beijing and Zhejiang demonstrate their higher efficient use of Embodied Water-energy to generate economic benefits. The proposed nexus approach may help the policymakers to ameliorate the shortage of energy and Water and access the sustainable development of national and regional ecosystem.
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Multiregional input–output and ecological network analyses for regional energy–Water nexus within China
Applied Energy, 2018Co-Authors: Saige Wang, Yating Liu, Bin ChenAbstract:Abstract Water use and energy consumption are strongly interwoven in networks of economic activity. Tracking energy and Water flows among regions and quantifying their interdependencies are fundamental for synergetic management of these two essential resources. In this work, we built an accounting framework to assess the performance of energy–Water nexus networks within China. Water consumption for various energy types and energy consumption in all stages of Water use were inventoried for different regions. Then, direct and indirect energy and Water Embodied in monetary flows among regions were calculated via multiregional input–output analysis to build an Embodied energy network, Embodied Water-related energy network, Embodied Water network, and Embodied energy-related Water network. Finally, a set of ecological network analysis indices were used to analyze the properties and connection of these four networks. The results show disparities of Water-related energy/total energy ratios among regions and the nexus impact on regional energy and Water systems. Beijing and Shanghai have large ratios of final demand consumption because of their large population and rapid economic development. Embodied Water and energy consumption in capital stock in Hainan, Ningxia represented 15% of total consumption by booming investments. We found that Embodied Water was transferred from western to eastern regions and northern to southern regions. Major energy export–import pairs were Xinjiang–Shanghai, Hebei–Beijing, Xinjiang–Zhejiang, and Jiangsu–Shanghai. Regions with controller/relier roles in the network were identified in the context of nexus impact, for which Beijing and Shanghai have a strong control and dependence relationship with other regions. The proposed nexus network approach may help bridge the gap between nexus modeling and regional resource management.
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The energy-Water nexus in interregional economic trade from both consumption and production perspectives
Energy Procedia, 2018Co-Authors: Tao Cao, Saige Wang, Bin ChenAbstract:Abstract Energy and Water, serving as a critical part to support the goods and services provision, are highly interwoven in the social, economic and ecological system. To investigate the direct and indirect energy and Water relationship in the complex economic trade, the trade-based energy-Water nexus model is built. The regional energy and Water consumption are inventoried for both consumption and production activities. Combining with the interregional monetary flows, the Embodied energy and Water flows are quantified. Finally, the pattern and mismatch of Embodied energy and Water trade is revealed. By the analyzing the pattern of the intermediate and final Embodied Water and energy trade, we aim to identify the synergies and tradeoffs in existing economic trade pathways. The results showed that Guangdong, Shandong, Zhejiang, Beijing, Liaoning are top 5 net Embodied Water (EW) importers, while Guangdong, Zhejiang, Beijing, Jiangsu and Shandong are the top 5 net Embodied energy (EE) importers. Jiangsu is a main final EE exporter and intermediate EE importer. Meanwhile, Xinjiang and Heilongjiang are two main intermediate EW exporters. The pattern could provide insights for energy and Water management from the perspective of suppliers and consumers.
Mengyao Han - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Embodied Water consumption between typical desalination projects reverse osmosis versus low temperature multi effect distillation
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2021Co-Authors: S.y. Liu, Mengyao Han, Zhongyang Wang, Jianjiao ZhangAbstract:Abstract At present, there are more than 20 kinds of seaWater desalination technologies utilized worldwide including Reverse Osmosis and Low-Temperature Multi-effect Distillation. To compare the Embodied Water consumption of the main seaWater desalination technologies, this study assesses the Water consumption of Reverse Osmosis and Low-Temperature Multi-effect Distillation desalination projects in China based on the system analysis method. Taking full account of the direct and indirect Water consumption in the desalination projects, the Embodied Water consumption of the Reverse Osmosis desalination project is 3.96E+04 m3 in the construction stage, whereas that of the Low-Temperature Multi-effect Distillation project is 7.22E+05 m3 at the same daily Water production capacity. In the operation stage, the Low-Temperature Multi-effect Distillation process has the potential to utilize waste heat generated by the thermal power plant for hydropower cogeneration, while the Reverse Osmosis process requires regular maintenance and replacement of reverse osmosis membranes. With respect to the Embodied Water consumption, the Reverse Osmosis desalination project presents more advantages than the Low-Temperature Multi-effect Distillation desalination project in terms of Water savings and economic costs during the construction stage, but relevant departments should also take actual local requirements and Water resources conditions into consideration. On the basis of providing comparisons between different projects, this study attempts to play a vital role in the rational allocation of desalination projects, the promotion of reasonable Water-saving policies and sustainable economic and social development from a macro perspective.
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Embodied Water demands, transfers and imbalance of China's mega-cities
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018Co-Authors: Mengyao HanAbstract:Abstract Water resources are of fundamental significance as the basis of human life, economy, and society. Especially as the essential socioeconomic factors, Water resources transferred through merchandise trade of China's mega-cities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing) play an increasingly crucial role in China's regional Water use allocation. On the whole, the four municipalities in China are all Embodied Water recipients along supply chains. However, it is found that Embodied Water transfers (including direct and indirect Water) related to these mega-cities have exacerbated the regional Water use imbalance and affected the Water use efficiency of China as a whole to some extent. In consideration of the increasing trading exchanges among cities and regions, ignoring Water transfers Embodied in trades will lead to failure in depicting actual Water demands. In such a context, the Embodied Water demands and transfers of China's municipalities are analyzed systematically, and the Water use efficiencies and allocation imbalance are assessed for the first time. Outcomes of this study through systems accounting of Water use profiles of China's mega-cities can be strong supports for reasonable allocation and utilization of China's Water resources, showing important implications for Water pressure mitigation.
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Global Water transfers Embodied in international trade: tracking imbalanced and inefficient flows.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018Co-Authors: Mengyao Han, G Q ChenAbstract:Abstract In light of the increasingly serious resource crisis in the context of global regional connectivity, a detailed analysis for Embodied Water flows in global supply chains is conducted involving more than 180 countries/regions. Based on the multi-regional database, this work attempts to explore the rules of Embodied Water transfers and the ways in which imbalance and inefficiencies in the new stage of globalization can be relieved. Overall, Water Embodied in trade flows, also known as Embodied Water, is estimated near one third the volume of global Water withdrawal. Mainland China is the world's leading gross Embodied Water exporter with 114.47 billion m3, in contrast to the United States as the leading importer with 151.39 million m3. Under the background of resources distribution, trade acts as a mechanism to enable wealthy consumers to shift stress to their trading partners, leading to a more complex context of imbalance. As the most Water-deficient region, the Middle East virtually receives 30 million m3 of Embodied Water; however most of the less developed regions including African countries are always large Embodied Water suppliers, requiring urgent, global attention. With the detailed data supports, this study provides systematical accounting on Embodied Water transfers, conducts comprehensive analyses on transfer patterns, efficiencies, and pressures, and identifies imbalanced and inefficient Embodied Water transfers among countries/regions, attempting to map out an inclusive and sustained transfer path and lay an essential foundation for globe resources use in the new stage of globalization.
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Global Water transfers Embodied in Mainland China's foreign trade: production- and consumption-based perspectives.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017Co-Authors: Mengyao Han, Guoqian Chen, Michael Dunford, Weidong Liu, S.y. LiuAbstract:Abstract Water resources are Embodied in global trade. Although China is the largest Water withdrawal economy in the world, 50% of its direct Water withdrawal is Embodied in Chinese imports and exports. Due to an increasing division of activities between different production units, economies such as Mainland China mainly import intermediate products for further processing and then export final goods to other economies. Overall, Mainland China is a net Embodied Water supplier not only in final consumption-based trade relations but also in intermediate production-based ones. China’s total per capita Water use is much lower than the global average, but yet China exports Embodied Water through trade activities. Pakistan, Myanmar and India are China’s largest Embodied Water suppliers, and Hong Kong, the United States and Japan are its largest net recipients. The main Water exporting sectors in Mainland China are Electrical and Machinery ( Sector 9 ) and Textiles and Wearing Apparel ( Sector 5 ) respectively, and the main importing sector is Agriculture ( Sector 1 ) with imports coming mainly from Myanmar, Pakistan, the United States and North Korea. This analysis of China’s global Embodied Water transfers can inform policies to increase China’s Water use efficiency and can be generated to build Embodied Water budgets for a systematic allocation of Water resources on the globe especially from the production- and consumption-based perspectives.
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A three-scale input-output analysis of Water use in a regional economy: Hebei province in China
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017Co-Authors: S.y. Liu, Bin Chen, Mengyao Han, Jianjiao Zhang, Wendong WeiAbstract:Abstract By means of the three-scale input-output analysis, this study, taking Hebei Province in China as a case work, analyzes the Water use in the provincial district and compares that between regional and urban economies. To the best of our knowledge, this paper pioneers providing a multi-scale perspective in a spectrum from global, national and regional scale, into regional Water use allocation and Water-saving policy making in Hebei province. The Embodied Water intensities for Hebei are revealed to be higher than that of the global average, but relatively approximate to that of the national average. The fact that Water Embodied in Hebei’s final demand is much lower than the direct Water withdrawal is unveiled, with large amounts of foreign Embodied Water exports and domestic imports flowing through the primary and secondary industries. The network outlines detailed supply and demand chains of Water resources in Hebei province from global, national, and regional scales, laying a solid foundation for reasonable allocation of Water resources in regional economies in context of regional development and urban integration.
Guoqian Chen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Global Water transfers Embodied in Mainland China's foreign trade: production- and consumption-based perspectives.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017Co-Authors: Mengyao Han, Guoqian Chen, Michael Dunford, Weidong Liu, S.y. LiuAbstract:Abstract Water resources are Embodied in global trade. Although China is the largest Water withdrawal economy in the world, 50% of its direct Water withdrawal is Embodied in Chinese imports and exports. Due to an increasing division of activities between different production units, economies such as Mainland China mainly import intermediate products for further processing and then export final goods to other economies. Overall, Mainland China is a net Embodied Water supplier not only in final consumption-based trade relations but also in intermediate production-based ones. China’s total per capita Water use is much lower than the global average, but yet China exports Embodied Water through trade activities. Pakistan, Myanmar and India are China’s largest Embodied Water suppliers, and Hong Kong, the United States and Japan are its largest net recipients. The main Water exporting sectors in Mainland China are Electrical and Machinery ( Sector 9 ) and Textiles and Wearing Apparel ( Sector 5 ) respectively, and the main importing sector is Agriculture ( Sector 1 ) with imports coming mainly from Myanmar, Pakistan, the United States and North Korea. This analysis of China’s global Embodied Water transfers can inform policies to increase China’s Water use efficiency and can be generated to build Embodied Water budgets for a systematic allocation of Water resources on the globe especially from the production- and consumption-based perspectives.
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Multi-scale input-output analysis of consumption-based Water resources: Method and application
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017Co-Authors: Ling Shao, Dabo Guan, Pengsu Wang, Guoqian ChenAbstract:This work develops a method of multi-scale input-output analysis for the Embodied Water accounting of an economy. This method can distinguish between the different virtual Water contents of imported and local products and is therefore capable of accurately estimating the virtual Water that is Embodied in trade. As a simplified model rather than a multi-regional input-output analysis, this method substantially minimizes the data requirements. With the support of averaged Eora global Embodied Water intensity databases for the world and Chinese economies, a three-scale Embodied Water input-output analysis of the Beijing economy in 2007 has been conducted. Dozens of virtual Water flows that relate to the Beijing economy have been identified and analyzed. Only 15% of the total Water resources Embodied in Beijing's local final demand were from local Water withdrawal; 85% were from domestically and internationally imported products. The virtual Water import is revealed to play a more important role than physical Water transfer in easing Beijing's Water shortage. Since the average Water use efficiency of the Beijing economy is much higher than that of the Chinese economy but somewhat lower that of the rest of the world, Beijing is suggested to shifting its imports to foreign countries to optimize global Water use. The method developed can be useful for Water saving strategies for multiple responsible entities holding different opinions, and it can be easily applied to the Embodied Water accounting of a sub-national or even smaller economic community.
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Embodied Water accounting and renewability assessment for ecological wasteWater treatment
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016Co-Authors: Ling Shao, Guoqian ChenAbstract:Abstract For Water accounting of wasteWater treatment, existing studies focused on either direct Water loss caused by evaporation/evapotranspiration by natural process or indirect Water cost induced by economic inputs. As an extension of our previous work (Shao and Chen, 2013), both the direct and indirect Water losses as Embodied Water are accounted for in the present study. A set of improved indicators have also been devised to assess the efficiency and renewability of wasteWater treatment. After accounting and analyzing the Embodied Water of a pilot constructed wetland wasteWater treatment system as an ecological engineering in Beijing, a comparison has been carried out between the case system and a traditional wasteWater treatment plant based on the proposed indicators. The traditional wasteWater treatment technology is illustrated however superior to the ecological way in terms of Water use context. The present framework is capable of providing clear guidance for prioritizing options of wasteWater treatment technologies by evaluating Water trade-off, beyond the usual practice on treatment efficiencies and quality standards in effluents.
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Embodied Water for urban economy: A three-scale input–output analysis for Beijing 2010
Ecological Modelling, 2015Co-Authors: Mengyao Han, Guoqian Chen, Ling Shao, M. T. Mustafa, Tasawar Hayat, X.h. XiaAbstract:Abstract The scheme of a three-scale input–output analysis is presented in this study to investigate the Water use profile of the urban economy in Beijing. Defined as total Water including direct and indirect Water, Embodied Water for an urban economy supported by massive domestic and foreign trade can be decomposed into nine categories corresponding to three sources (local withdrawal, domestic imports, and foreign imports) and three destinations (local final demand, domestic exports, and foreign exports). Based on statistics for Beijing in 2010, the case urban economy is endowed with just 3.53 billion m 3 of local Water withdrawal, whereas the total Embodied Water demand is estimated up to 13.61 billion m 3 , almost quadruple the local Water withdrawal. The extra 10.08 billion m 3 of indirect Water use is obtained via cross-boundary trade. Overall, Beijing's total Water demand is satisfied mainly by domestic imports by a share of more than 60%, and partly by foreign imports by a share of around 20%. The unintentionally induced Water Embodied in domestic and global trade plays an essential role in satisfying the Water demand, which has essential implications for decision making to ease urban Water scarcity.
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Water footprint assessment for service sector: A case study of gaming industry in Water scarce Macao
Ecological Indicators, 2014Co-Authors: Guoqian ChenAbstract:Abstract Although numerous studies have been carried out to investigate the Water footprint of different economies at global, national and regional scales, the research on Water footprint of individual economic sector, which is the elementary part of each economy, is still lacking. To fill the gap, this paper for the first time employs a hybrid method to evaluate the Water footprint of gaming industry in Water scarce Macao, based on the latest statistics and most exhaustive Embodied Water intensity databases. The results show that direct Water use only accounts for extremely small fraction of the gaming industry's Water footprint, indicating that the exchange of Water Embodied in product and service between different sectors is also a useful mean to satisfy individual sector's demand for Water resources. As Macao's demand for Water is growing, integrated plans including economic instruments and measures like reducing the scale of commission input and promoting efficiency would ease Macao's Water pressure. Water footprint assessment in this study brings along new perspectives on gaming industry's Water management and encourages wise use of goods, materials and services in a sustainable way.
Ling Shao - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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FreshWater costs of seaWater desalination: Systems process analysis for the case plant in China
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2019Co-Authors: S.y. Liu, Ling Shao, Jing Meng, Ming-yong Han, G.x. Zhang, Ke Chen, Wendong Wei, Guowei ChenAbstract:Abstract SeaWater desalination is one of the most essential strategies to solve freshWater shortage issues worldwide. Though having the possibility of providing abundant freshWater resources, desalination projects are also limited by the pressure of freshWater consumption. Based on the systems process analysis, the freshWater cost of seaWater desalination is assessed with the case study of a 25,000 tons/day seaWater desalination plant in Huanghua Port, Hebei Province, China. The total Embodied Water consumption is 9.02E+06 m3, which is estimated in magnitude as five percent of the total freshWater production in the design cycle. Among all the sub-projects, the Embodied Water consumption in the technology system engineering represents the largest component, accounting for 60.12% of the total. The productivity level of the project is calculated to be 19.29, which highlights the potential of the desalination project for alleviating the shortage of freshWater. It is necessary to notice that the Water yield of the project is calculated to be 9.12E+06 m3, which could achieve the freshWater balance of the construction phase in the first year of operation. The comprehensive inventory and procedure of the Embodied Water accounting in this work are expected to provide useful references for rational allocation of Water resources and optimal design for other desalination projects.
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Multi-scale input-output analysis of consumption-based Water resources: Method and application
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017Co-Authors: Ling Shao, Dabo Guan, Pengsu Wang, Guoqian ChenAbstract:This work develops a method of multi-scale input-output analysis for the Embodied Water accounting of an economy. This method can distinguish between the different virtual Water contents of imported and local products and is therefore capable of accurately estimating the virtual Water that is Embodied in trade. As a simplified model rather than a multi-regional input-output analysis, this method substantially minimizes the data requirements. With the support of averaged Eora global Embodied Water intensity databases for the world and Chinese economies, a three-scale Embodied Water input-output analysis of the Beijing economy in 2007 has been conducted. Dozens of virtual Water flows that relate to the Beijing economy have been identified and analyzed. Only 15% of the total Water resources Embodied in Beijing's local final demand were from local Water withdrawal; 85% were from domestically and internationally imported products. The virtual Water import is revealed to play a more important role than physical Water transfer in easing Beijing's Water shortage. Since the average Water use efficiency of the Beijing economy is much higher than that of the Chinese economy but somewhat lower that of the rest of the world, Beijing is suggested to shifting its imports to foreign countries to optimize global Water use. The method developed can be useful for Water saving strategies for multiple responsible entities holding different opinions, and it can be easily applied to the Embodied Water accounting of a sub-national or even smaller economic community.
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Embodied Water accounting and renewability assessment for ecological wasteWater treatment
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016Co-Authors: Ling Shao, Guoqian ChenAbstract:Abstract For Water accounting of wasteWater treatment, existing studies focused on either direct Water loss caused by evaporation/evapotranspiration by natural process or indirect Water cost induced by economic inputs. As an extension of our previous work (Shao and Chen, 2013), both the direct and indirect Water losses as Embodied Water are accounted for in the present study. A set of improved indicators have also been devised to assess the efficiency and renewability of wasteWater treatment. After accounting and analyzing the Embodied Water of a pilot constructed wetland wasteWater treatment system as an ecological engineering in Beijing, a comparison has been carried out between the case system and a traditional wasteWater treatment plant based on the proposed indicators. The traditional wasteWater treatment technology is illustrated however superior to the ecological way in terms of Water use context. The present framework is capable of providing clear guidance for prioritizing options of wasteWater treatment technologies by evaluating Water trade-off, beyond the usual practice on treatment efficiencies and quality standards in effluents.
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Embodied Water for urban economy a three scale input output analysis for beijing 2010
Ecological Modelling, 2015Co-Authors: Mengyao Han, Ling Shao, M. T. Mustafa, Tasawar Hayat, G Q Chen, X.h. XiaAbstract:Abstract The scheme of a three-scale input–output analysis is presented in this study to investigate the Water use profile of the urban economy in Beijing. Defined as total Water including direct and indirect Water, Embodied Water for an urban economy supported by massive domestic and foreign trade can be decomposed into nine categories corresponding to three sources (local withdrawal, domestic imports, and foreign imports) and three destinations (local final demand, domestic exports, and foreign exports). Based on statistics for Beijing in 2010, the case urban economy is endowed with just 3.53 billion m 3 of local Water withdrawal, whereas the total Embodied Water demand is estimated up to 13.61 billion m 3 , almost quadruple the local Water withdrawal. The extra 10.08 billion m 3 of indirect Water use is obtained via cross-boundary trade. Overall, Beijing's total Water demand is satisfied mainly by domestic imports by a share of more than 60%, and partly by foreign imports by a share of around 20%. The unintentionally induced Water Embodied in domestic and global trade plays an essential role in satisfying the Water demand, which has essential implications for decision making to ease urban Water scarcity.
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Embodied Water for urban economy: A three-scale input–output analysis for Beijing 2010
Ecological Modelling, 2015Co-Authors: Mengyao Han, Guoqian Chen, Ling Shao, M. T. Mustafa, Tasawar Hayat, X.h. XiaAbstract:Abstract The scheme of a three-scale input–output analysis is presented in this study to investigate the Water use profile of the urban economy in Beijing. Defined as total Water including direct and indirect Water, Embodied Water for an urban economy supported by massive domestic and foreign trade can be decomposed into nine categories corresponding to three sources (local withdrawal, domestic imports, and foreign imports) and three destinations (local final demand, domestic exports, and foreign exports). Based on statistics for Beijing in 2010, the case urban economy is endowed with just 3.53 billion m 3 of local Water withdrawal, whereas the total Embodied Water demand is estimated up to 13.61 billion m 3 , almost quadruple the local Water withdrawal. The extra 10.08 billion m 3 of indirect Water use is obtained via cross-boundary trade. Overall, Beijing's total Water demand is satisfied mainly by domestic imports by a share of more than 60%, and partly by foreign imports by a share of around 20%. The unintentionally induced Water Embodied in domestic and global trade plays an essential role in satisfying the Water demand, which has essential implications for decision making to ease urban Water scarcity.
Rosa Duarte - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Science-policy interface on Water scarcity in India: Giving ‘visibility’ to unsustainable virtual Water flows (1996–2014)
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020Co-Authors: Suparana Katyaini, Anamika Barua, Rosa DuarteAbstract:Abstract How can science regarding Water scarcity be reflected in informative indices to advance evidence-based Water policies? Our research aimed to explore this by linking the Water scarcity and virtual Water (VW) flows assessments with the Water policies in India. The novel contribution of the research is establishing the link between the hydrologic-economic use-institutions aspect of Water scarcity. On a national scale, the assessment revealed an increase in net VW-imports Embodied in food grains from 89,235 × 109 L, i.e., GL (1996–2005) to 207,452,974 GL (2005–2014). There was a shift from net VW-exports (−2124 GL) to net VW-imports (84,504 GL) Embodied in oilseeds. Zooming into the sub-national scale we found that Water scarcity is being concentrated in highly Water-scarce zones due to their VW-exports to other highly Water-scarce zones. A concerning finding was that states with highest net VW-exports lack governance of scarce Water resources through a state-specific Water policy, e.g. Punjab, Haryana. Our research concludes that the virtual nature of Embodied Water necessitates Water policies to be reflective of the visible evidences of unsustainable VW-flows. It also points out an urgent need to rethink current Water policies in the context of a science-policy interface, to inform decisions and actions on the mitigation of Water scarcity.
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Income, Economic Structure and Trade: Impacts on Recent Water Use Trends in the European Union
Sustainability, 2018Co-Authors: Rosa Duarte, Vicente Pinilla, Ana SerranoAbstract:From the mid-1990s to the recent international economic crisis, the European Union (EU27) experienced a significant economic growth and a flat population increase. During these years, the Water resources directly used by the EU countries displayed a growing but smooth trend. However, European activities intensively demanded Water resources throughout the whole global supply chain. The growth rate of Embodied Water use was three times higher than the growth in Water directly used by these economies. This was mainly due to the large upsurge of virtual Water imports in the EU (e.g., about 25% of the change in Water imports in the world was directly linked to the increasing imports in the EU27 countries). In this context, we analyze Water use changes in the EU27 from 1995 to 2009, combining the production and consumption perspectives. To that aim, we use the environmentally extended input-output approach to obtain the volume of Water Embodied in domestic production and in trade flows at the sector and country levels. In the empirical analysis, we utilize multi-regional input-output data from the World Input Output Database. In addition, by means of a structural decomposition analysis we identify and quantify the factors explaining changes in these trends. We focus both on the role of domestic production and trade and estimate the associated intensity, technology and scale effects. This analysis is done for different clusters, identifying singular patterns depending on income criteria. Our results confirm the boost of demand growth in that period, the positive but negligible effect of structural change, and the decline in Water intensity which, however, was not enough to compensate the effects on Water associated to the economic expansion in the period. These findings also point at a gradual substitution of domestic Water use for virtual Water imports. More concretely, in most countries the food industry tended to reduce its backward linkages with the domestic agricultural sector, increasing the Embodied Water in agricultural imports from non-European regions.
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Virtual Water Flows in the EU27: A Consumption-based Approach
Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2016Co-Authors: Ana Serrano, Dabo Guan, Rosa Duarte, Jouni PaavolaAbstract:The use of Water resources has traditionally been studied by accounting for the volume of Water removed from sources for specific uses. This approach focuses on surface and groundWater only and it ignores that international trade of products with substantial amounts of Embodied Water can have an impact on domestic Water resources. Using current economic and environmental data, we conduct a consumption-based assessment of virtual Water flows in the European Union (EU27). We find that the total Water footprint (WF) of 2,280 cubic meters (m3) per capita for the EU27 mostly consists of green Water use (precipitation stored as soil moisture), which is omitted in the conventional Water accounting. Blue Water (surface and groundWater.) and gray Water use (the volume of freshWater needed to dilute pollutants to meet the applicable Water quality standards), which are targeted by current EU Water policies, only make up 32% of the total WF. We also find that Europeans imported 585 cubic kilometers (km3) (109 m3) of virtual Water, or around 28% of global virtual Water trade flows, in 2009. Within Europe, Germany is a key net importer of Water through the trade of products in agriculture, the food industry, the chemical sector, and electricity generation. Countries in Southern and Eastern Europe have specialized in Water-intensive agriculture and are key exporters of virtual Water despite experiencing physical scarcity of Water. Our results suggest that there is a need to reconsider Water policy in the EU to address Water transfers occurring through trade and to grasp the interlinkages between green, blue, and gray Water—which are likely to become more important in Water-scarce parts of Europe, with a changing climate.
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The Spanish Food Industry on Global Supply Chains and Its Impact on Water Resources
Water, 2014Co-Authors: Rosa Duarte, Vicente Pinilla, Ana SerranoAbstract:The study of the impact of economic activities on natural resources through global supply chains is increasingly demanded in the context of the growing globalization of economies and product fragmentation. Taking Spain as a case study and a sector with significant economic and environmental impacts, the agri-food industry, the objective of this work is two-fold. First, we estimate the associated Water impact, both from the production and consumption perspectives, paying special attention to the Water Embodied in production exchanges among countries and sectors. To that aim, we use an environmentally-extended multiregional input-output model (MRIO). Second, we assess the main driving factors behind changes in direct and Embodied Water consumption between the years 1995 and 2009 by means of a structural decomposition analysis. The MRIO model provides a comprehensive estimate of the economic linkages among regions and economic sectors and, therefore, allows calculating the environmental impacts over international value chains. The results indicate that the food industry exerts large impacts on global Water resources, particularly given the remarkable interactions with the domestic and foreign agricultural sectors, These growing linkages show how consumption patterns, and, therefore, lifestyles, involve large environmental impacts through the whole and global supply chains.
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Water flows in the Spanish economy: agri-food sectors, trade and households diets in an input-output framework.
Environmental science & technology, 2012Co-Authors: Ignacio Cazcarro, Rosa Duarte, Julio Sánchez-chólizAbstract:Seeking to advance our knowledge of Water flows and footprints and the factors underlying them, we apply, on the basis of an extended 2004 Social Accounting Matrix for Spain, an open Leontief model in which households and foreign trade are the exogenous accounts. The model shows the Water Embodied in products bought by consumers (which we identify with the Water Footprint) and in trade (identified with virtual Water trade). Activities with relevant Water inflows and outflows such as the agrarian sector, textiles, and the agri-food industry are examined in detail using breakdowns of the relevant accounts. The data reflect only physical consumption, differentiating between green and blue Water. The results reveal that Spain is a net importer of Water. Flows are then related to key trading partners to show the large quantities involved. The focus on Embodied (or virtual) Water by activity is helpful to distinguish indirect from direct consumption as Embodied Water can be more than 300 times direct consumptio...