The temporal–spatial assessment of water scarcity with the Water Poverty Index: a study in the middle basin of the Heihe River, northwest China

This paper details an application of the Water Poverty Index (WPI) to evaluate the state of water resources in an inland river basin using a case study of the Heihe River Basin (HRB) located in northwest China. The WPI includes five components (resources, access, capacity, use, and environment) and has 13 indicators; each indicator is assigned an equal weighting. The selected set of components and indicators was used to discuss the spatial and temporal variation of the water scarcity situation in the middle of the HRB for a 10-year assessment period. The results show that the water scarcity situation of the HRB is generally evolving in a positive way from 2001 to 2010. However, the WPI varied widely (from 24.6 to 66.5) at a spatial scale. The water situation was best maintained in Jiayuguan City, and it was most severe in Jiuquan City. These variations suggest that different cities require different policy intervention to improve the overall water situation. Overall, the WPI appears to be a reasonable approach to examine the water scarcity situation and help decision makers to better devise local policy.

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Transaction Costs, Modes, and Scales from Agricultural to Industrial Water Rights Trading in an Inland River Basin, Northwest China

Water ◽

10.3390/w10111598 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 1598 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Xiaohong Deng ◽

Xiaoyu Song ◽

Zhongmin Xu

Keyword(s):

Transaction Costs ◽

River Basin ◽

Industrial Structure ◽

High Water ◽

Northwest China ◽

Heihe River ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Small Water ◽

Inland River ◽

Water Trading

Water transactions from agriculture to industry have become an important means to address water scarcity and improve water economic efficiency. Transaction costs (TCs) are one of the main factors preventing water markets from forming or efficiently operating. To evaluate the level of transactions costs, we set the appropriate transaction modes for cross-sector lever water trading and evaluated the TCs from agriculture to industry in the Heihe River Basin (HRB), an inland basin in northwest China. We found that the ranges of transaction costs per m3 of water ranged from 0.06 to 1.10 yuan, and the ratios of TCs to transaction prices ranged from 4.11% to 244.44%. The transaction scale should be more than 15,267 m3 or 29,888 m3 when the TC is at the lower or upper limit in the study area. When the transaction scales are set correctly, the range of the transaction costs will be in an acceptable range, and the proportion of TCs to transaction price will not exceed the 8% limit of the California Water Bank, which was employed as a comparison. The key restrictive factor of water trading in HRB may be the low transaction scale, followed by the high water TCs. The effects of improving water use efficiency in cross-sector trading could not neutralize the restrictions caused by the negative effects of small water demand transaction scales for undeveloped secondary industries in HRB. However, considering the industrial structure and development trends of the regional economy, the future driving force of water transactions across sectors likely lies in tertiary industries in HRB.

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Water Poverty Index in the Inland River Basins of Hexi Corridor, Gansu Province

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.864-867.2371 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 864-867 ◽

pp. 2371-2375 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yan Hui Pan ◽

Chun Jie Gu ◽

Jin Zhu Ma ◽

Tian Shu Zhang ◽

Hui Zhang

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

Water Resource Management ◽

Water Security ◽

River Basins ◽

Gansu Province ◽

Evaluation Framework ◽

Poverty Index ◽

Inland River ◽

Water Poverty Index ◽

Basin Scale

Since the economic development and environment deteriorating, water security has become an increasingly serious problem in the world. A number of regions are suffering water scarcity and pollution. The Water Poverty Index (WPI) could provide a standardized evaluation framework for the utilization and development of water resources in a certain region. This article based on the calculation of WPI, analyzed the components of WPI at basin scale, and calculated the WPI at Shule river basin, Shiyang river basin and Heihe River Basin, thereby, identified the water security and find out the main problems of water resource management and utilization in the three inland river basins in Gansu corridor.

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