Quantity and quality of China's water from demand perspectives
China is confronted with an unprecedented water crisis regarding its quantity and quality. In this study, we quantified the dynamics of China’s embodied water use and chemical oxygen demand (COD) discharge from 2010 to 2015. The analysis was conducted with the latest available water use data across...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab4e54 |
| _version_ | 1827870444948029440 |
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| author | Xian Li Yuli Shan Zongyong Zhang Lili Yang Jing Meng Dabo Guan |
| author_facet | Xian Li Yuli Shan Zongyong Zhang Lili Yang Jing Meng Dabo Guan |
| author_sort | Xian Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | China is confronted with an unprecedented water crisis regarding its quantity and quality. In this study, we quantified the dynamics of China’s embodied water use and chemical oxygen demand (COD) discharge from 2010 to 2015. The analysis was conducted with the latest available water use data across sectors in primary, secondary and tertiary industries and input–output models. The results showed that (1) China’s water crisis was alleviated under urbanisation. Urban consumption occupied the largest percentages (over 30%) of embodied water use and COD discharge, but embodied water intensities in urban consumption were far lower than those in rural consumption. (2) The ‘new normal’ phase witnessed the optimisation of China’s water use structures. Embodied water use in light-manufacturing and tertiary sectors increased while those in heavy-manufacturing sectors (except chemicals and transport equipment) dropped. (3) Transformation of China’s international market brought positive effects on its domestic water use. China’s water use (116–80 billion tonnes (Bts)) ^9 and COD discharge (3.95–2.22 million tonnes (Mts)) embodied in export tremendously decreased while its total export values (11–25 trillion CNY) soared. Furthermore, embodied water use and COD discharge in relatively low-end sectors, such as textile, started to transfer from international to domestic markets when a part of China’s production activities had been relocated to other developing countries. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:57:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a0866b7d4e804032a04261a93faf7aba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:57:52Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-a0866b7d4e804032a04261a93faf7aba2023-08-09T14:48:00ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262019-01-01141212400410.1088/1748-9326/ab4e54Quantity and quality of China's water from demand perspectivesXian Li0Yuli Shan1Zongyong Zhang2Lili Yang3Jing Meng4Dabo Guan5Department of Mathematics, Southern University of Science and Technology , Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of China; School of International Development, University of East Anglia , Norwich NR4 TJ7, United KingdomEnergy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, University of Groningen , Groningen 9747 AG, The NetherlandsSchool of International Development, University of East Anglia , Norwich NR4 TJ7, United Kingdom; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology , Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Mathematics, Southern University of Science and Technology , Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of China; School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University , Leicestershire LE11 3TU, United KingdomThe Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management, University of College London , London WC1E 7HB, United KingdomSchool of International Development, University of East Anglia , Norwich NR4 TJ7, United Kingdom; Department of Earth Systems Sciences, Tsinghua University , Beijing 10080, People’s Republic of ChinaChina is confronted with an unprecedented water crisis regarding its quantity and quality. In this study, we quantified the dynamics of China’s embodied water use and chemical oxygen demand (COD) discharge from 2010 to 2015. The analysis was conducted with the latest available water use data across sectors in primary, secondary and tertiary industries and input–output models. The results showed that (1) China’s water crisis was alleviated under urbanisation. Urban consumption occupied the largest percentages (over 30%) of embodied water use and COD discharge, but embodied water intensities in urban consumption were far lower than those in rural consumption. (2) The ‘new normal’ phase witnessed the optimisation of China’s water use structures. Embodied water use in light-manufacturing and tertiary sectors increased while those in heavy-manufacturing sectors (except chemicals and transport equipment) dropped. (3) Transformation of China’s international market brought positive effects on its domestic water use. China’s water use (116–80 billion tonnes (Bts)) ^9 and COD discharge (3.95–2.22 million tonnes (Mts)) embodied in export tremendously decreased while its total export values (11–25 trillion CNY) soared. Furthermore, embodied water use and COD discharge in relatively low-end sectors, such as textile, started to transfer from international to domestic markets when a part of China’s production activities had been relocated to other developing countries.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab4e54embodied water useembodied COD dischargeinput–output analysis |
| spellingShingle | Xian Li Yuli Shan Zongyong Zhang Lili Yang Jing Meng Dabo Guan Quantity and quality of China's water from demand perspectives Environmental Research Letters embodied water use embodied COD discharge input–output analysis |
| title | Quantity and quality of China's water from demand perspectives |
| title_full | Quantity and quality of China's water from demand perspectives |
| title_fullStr | Quantity and quality of China's water from demand perspectives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantity and quality of China's water from demand perspectives |
| title_short | Quantity and quality of China's water from demand perspectives |
| title_sort | quantity and quality of china s water from demand perspectives |
| topic | embodied water use embodied COD discharge input–output analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab4e54 |
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