Research on Decoupling between Economic Development and Water Resource Utilization

In addition to the social economy and the rapid development of industry and agriculture, water demand is increasing and poses challenges in the over-exploitation of water resources. This research establishes a model to assess the sustainable exploitation of water resources based on system dynamics theory and STELLA software, which solves the imbalanced allocation of industrial water, agricultural water and domestic water. The model is composed of two parts: the water quantity system (including economy, population, water availability and water demand) and the water quality system (composed of the aquatic environment), which is suitable for Chengde City with a water resource shortage. The proposed model is established by data of Chengde City from 2007 to 2016 and is verified by 2017 data. Furthermore, in order to compare the water quality and water utilization of Chengde City under different development scenarios up to 2025, the sensitivity analysis of each variable (e.g., population) is carried out in this model, and thereby the water resource utilization scenarios are acquired. Specifically, four scenarios are designed and denoted: Scenario 1: keeping the status quo unchanged, Scenario 2: slowing down economic development and devoting more energy to environmental protection, Scenario 3: only focusing more on economic development and Scenario 4: aiming at steady and rapid economic growth and an eco-friendly environment. The results shows that Scenarios 2 and 3 facilitate high-effective water resource utilization compared with the current development, Scenario 1. Scenario 4 fosters the balance of water resources supply–demand in the future and preserves the water quality. This study provides an inspiring method for realizing the sustainable utilization and optimizing allocation of water resources in Chengde City.

Download Full-text

Generalized Index of Regional Socio-economic Consumption Level of Water Resource

Journal of Water Supply Research and Technology—AQUA ◽

10.2166/aqua.2019.152 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 69 (2) ◽

pp. 113-121

Author(s):

Zhiwei Qi ◽

Changlai Xiao ◽

Bo Zhang ◽

Xiujuan Liang

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Water Resources ◽

Resource Utilization ◽

Water Resource ◽

Regional Economic Development ◽

Transitional Period ◽

Regional Economic ◽

Consumption Level ◽

Development Level ◽

Water Resource Utilization

Abstract Traditional indicators of water resource utilization degree and efficiency cannot show the stressed relationship between the level of water resource utilization and economic development level in a region. Therefore, this manuscript proposes a generalized index of socio-economic consumption level of water resources. The definition of the index is the ratio of water consumption change for GDP growth per unit, and the potential of water resources exploitation and utilization. The theoretical curve of this index has a rise period, a high value period, and a decline period, which correspond to the take-off period, bottleneck period and maturity period of the regional economic development, respectively. This index can help us find the turning point of water resources restricting economy. The indexes of each year are calculated respectively from 1994 to 2010 of Beijing and Hebei province of China as example. The result shows that both two provinces are in the transitional period from high value period to the decline period. This example shows the universality of Generalized Index of Regional Socio-economic Consumption Level of Water Resources. Setting a target Generalized Index of Regional Socio-economic Consumption Level of Water Resources is consistent with the sustainable development level of regional economy which could promote both regional economic development and water resources protection.

Download Full-text

Water Resource Utilization in Taiwan’s Municipalities: A Comparative Perspective

Journal of Cultural and Religious Studies ◽

10.17265/2328-2177/2020.12.001 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (12) ◽

Author(s):

Ts’ui-jung Liu

Keyword(s):

Resource Utilization ◽

Water Resource ◽

Comparative Perspective ◽

Water Resource Utilization

Download Full-text

Water Resource Utilization and Livelihood Adaptations under the Background of Climate Change: A Case Study of Rural Households in the Koshi River Basin

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11185064 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (18) ◽

pp. 5064 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Wan ◽

Song ◽

Su ◽

Peng ◽

Khatiwada ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

River Basin ◽

Resource Utilization ◽

Water Resource ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Rural Areas ◽

College Education ◽

Disaster Resilience ◽

Water Resource Utilization ◽

Floods And Droughts

In the Koshi River Basin, the effects of climate change have become clear. Agricultural countries, such as Nepal, depend on farmers’ adaptations to climate change for local sustainable development. Limited livelihood options, unequal access to resources and information, and climate change-related floods and droughts have reduced farmer welfare. Few studies have investigated the effects of altitude in rural areas or examined livelihood adaptation strategies in Nepal. Using a survey of farmers in rural areas at high, middle, and low altitudes in Nepal, this article explores the impacts of climate change-related floods and droughts, as well as the water resource utilization, disaster resilience, and livelihood improvement ability of farmers and the influencing factors. This article adopted participatory rural appraisal to obtain survey data from farmers at three altitudes. Through one-way ANOVA and F-tests, farmers’ perceptions of floods and droughts were analyzed, and through field investigations, their production and water consumption patterns were established. Logistic regressions show that college education, farming income, and domestic water consumption have the strongest impacts on households’ disaster resilience, while non-farm income, male laborer rates, and college education have the strongest impacts on households’ abilities to improve livelihoods. Based on our results, we offer countermeasures and suggestions on education, gender equality, and rural infrastructure construction.

Download Full-text

Study on the Evolution of Water Resource Utilization Efficiency in Tibet Autonomous Region and Four Provinces in Tibetan Areas under Double Control Action

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11123396 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 3396 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xuhui Ding ◽

Zixuan Zhang ◽

Fengping Wu ◽

Xiangyi Xu

Keyword(s):

Resource Utilization ◽

Water Resource ◽

Production Capacity ◽

High Water ◽

Utilization Efficiency ◽

The Tibetan Plateau ◽

Water Utilization ◽

Resource Endowment ◽

Tibet Autonomous Region ◽

Water Resource Utilization

Tibet is the province with the largest international rivers and water resource reserves in China. However, due to its special ecological environment, the utilization of water resources has become an inevitable problem. Considering the undesirable outputs in water resource utilization, the Super-efficiency Slack-based Measure (SE-SBM) model is used to measure water utilization efficiency of Tibet and the Tibetan areas (four provinces where Tibetan areas are located) from 2006 to 2016. The mixed and random panel Tobit model is used to investigate the driving factors of water efficiency and a horizontal comparison between provinces is made on this basis. The results show that the water utilization efficiency of Tibet and the Tibetan areas in four provinces shows a “U-shaped” trend. The water utilization efficiency of most provinces is greater than or close to 1 and the water utilization efficiency of each province shows a constant convergence trend. Environmental regulation and technological innovation have a significant positive effect on water utilization efficiency. Urbanization and foreign direct investment (FDI) have a significant negative effect on water utilization efficiency. Per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and water resource endowment have no significant effect on water utilization efficiency. It is necessary to select a new type of urbanization suitable for the Tibetan Plateau, eliminate the backward production capacity, high water consumption, or high emissions industries, and to strengthen the research and development of water-saving and emission-reduction technology innovation in Tibet.

Download Full-text