Assessment of Water Footprints of Consumption and Production in Transboundary River Basins at Country-Basin Mesh-Based Spatial Resolution

Xia Wu, Dagmawi Mulugeta Degefu, Liang Yuan, Zaiyi Liao, Weijun He, Min An and Zhaofang Zhang
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Xia Wu: School of Law and Public Administration, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China
Dagmawi Mulugeta Degefu: College of Economics and Management, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China
Liang Yuan: College of Economics and Management, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China
Zaiyi Liao: Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
Weijun He: College of Economics and Management, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China
Min An: College of Economics and Management, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China
Zhaofang Zhang: School of business, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Water is unevenly distributed globally. This uneven distribution is the reason behind the differences among geographical areas in terms of their water footprint of consumption and production. This gives the global trade of goods a unique feature. This characteristic of the water footprint might be used to address water scarcity and conflicts because water availability also has the same trend. Transboundary river basins are freshwater resources with a high probability of water scarcity and conflict because the water is claimed by multiple sovereign countries. In order to design sharing mechanisms for transboundary river basins that incorporate virtual water concept, it is key to identify the virtual water balance of country-basin units. A study addressing this research gap is not yet available. This article identified and discussed net virtual water importer and exporter sub-basins of transboundary rivers at a country-basin mesh based spatial resolution. The results of our study show that out of the 565 country-basin units surveyed in this article 391, 369, and 461 are net gray, green, and blue virtual water importers respectively. These sub-basins covers 58.37%, 47.52% and 57.52% of the total area covered by transboundary river basins and includes 0.65, 1.9, and around 2 billion people, respectively. The results depict that not only the water endowment of sub-basins is a determining factor for their water footprint of consumption and production, but also their social, economic, and demographic profiles. Furthermore, the water footprint of consumption and production within most of the country-basin units have a global feature. Hence, sustainable water management schemes within border-crossing basins should take into account not only the local but also the global water footprints of consumption and production. This can offer more options for sharing transboundary river basins water capital, thereby minimizing the probability of water scarcity and water conflicts.

Keywords: virtual water; water footprint; transboundary river basins; blue water; green water; gray water (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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