Public perceptions of water scarcity in China: insights from an online survey of 3262 responses

Hui Liu, Siao Sun, Chuanglin Fang, Qiuhong Tang and Ting Ma

International Journal of Water Resources Development, 2025, vol. 41, issue 5-6, 1027-1044

Abstract: Freshwater is increasingly abstracted beyond sustainable levels in many watersheds worldwide. Is the public aware of this water scarcity challenge? This study investigated public perceptions of water scarcity and how individual characteristics influence these perceptions using an ordinal logistic regression model. Based on 3262 online survey responses, we found that participants tend to underestimate water scarcity, contrasting the fact that over half of the cities in China face water scarcity. High-income tap water users are more likely to underestimate water scarcity than low-income non-tap water users. Understanding these perceptions is critical for promoting water-saving practices and developing effective mitigation strategies.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/07900627.2025.2486848 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:cijwxx:v:41:y:2025:i:5-6:p:1027-1044

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/cijw20

DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2025.2486848

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Water Resources Development is currently edited by Cecilia Tortajada

More articles in International Journal of Water Resources Development from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().