scholarly journals Evolving water science in the Anthropocene

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 319-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. G. Savenije ◽  
A. Y. Hoekstra ◽  
P. van der Zaag
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Water System ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Water Value ◽  
Value Flow ◽  
Systemic Understanding ◽  
Hydrology And Water Resources

Abstract. This paper reviews the changing relation between human beings and water since the Industrial Revolution, a period that has been called the Anthropocene because of the unprecedented scale at which humans have altered the planet during this time. We show how the rapidly changing world urges us to continuously improve our understanding of the complex interactions between humans and the water system. The paper starts by demonstrating that hydrology and the science of managing water resources have played key roles in human and economic development throughout history; yet these roles have often been marginalised or obscured. Knowledge of hydrology and water resources engineering and management helped to transform the landscape, and thus also the very hydrology within catchments itself. It is only fairly recent that water experts have become conscious of such mechanisms, exemplified by several concepts that try to incorporate them – integrated water resources management, eco-hydrology, socio-hydrology. We have reached a stage at which a more systemic understanding of scale interdependencies can inform the sustainable governance of water systems, using new concepts like precipitation sheds, virtual water transfers, water footprints, and water value flow.

scholarly journals Evolving water science in the Anthropocene

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 7619-7649 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. G. Savenije ◽  
A. Y. Hoekstra ◽  
P. van der Zaag
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resources Management ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Water System ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Water Value ◽  
Value Flow

Abstract. This paper reviews the changing relation between man and water since the industrial revolution, the period that has been called the Anthropocene because of the unprecedented scale at which humans have altered the planet. We show how the rapidly changing reality urges us to continuously improve our understanding of the complex interactions between man and the water system. The paper starts with demonstrating that hydrology and the science of water resources management have played key roles in human and economic development throughout history; yet these roles have often been marginalised or obscured. Knowledge on hydrology and water resources engineering and management helped to transform the landscape, and thus also the very hydrology within catchments itself. It is only fairly recent that water experts have become self-conscious of such mechanisms, exemplified by several concepts that try to internalise them (integrated water resources management, eco-hydrology, socio-hydrology). We have reached a stage where a more systemic understanding of scale interdependencies can inform the sustainable governance of water systems, using new concepts like precipitationsheds, virtual water transfers, water footprint and water value flow.

scholarly journals The Cognitive Framework of the Interaction between the Physical and Virtual Water and the Strategies for Sustainable Coupling Management

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuerui Gao ◽  
Miao Sun ◽  
Yong Zhao ◽  
Pute Wu ◽  
Shan Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Continuous System ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Unified Framework ◽  
Coupled Flow ◽  
Changing Environment ◽  
Flow Process ◽  
Hydrology And Water Resources

In the context of a changing environment and economic globalization, the evolution of regional hydrology and water resources systems has undergone profound changes. It is not enough to rely on traditional physical water resources planning, scheduling, and regulation methods to solve problems such as water shortages and imbalances in the water cycle associated with rapid economic development. The theory of virtual water expands the cognitive scope of hydrology and water resources and enriches the solutions to water problems. However, the academic community has not yet reached a consensus on how to build a unified framework of the virtual water theory and traditional hydrology and water resources recognition system, how to understand the new laws of water resources evolution in the natural–economic continuous system, and then how to realize efficient and sustainable usage of water resources through physical water–virtual water integrated management. This paper proposes a basic cognitive model of coupling of physical water–virtual water and discusses the evolution of hydrology and water resources in a natural–economic system, presenting the laws of the coupled flow of physical water–virtual water in natural systems and human economic systems. A quantitative expression equation is proposed for the flow process, and a basic theoretical framework for the coupled flow of physical water–virtual water is preliminarily constructed. At the end of the paper, the basic strategy for the regulation of a physical water–virtual water integrated management system is proposed, which provides a new perspective for the efficient and sustainable use of global water resources in a changing environment.

scholarly journals Water Value Flows Upstream

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2642
Author(s):  
Hubert H. G. Savenije ◽  
Pieter van der Zaag
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Spiritual Values ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Water Value ◽  
Ultimate Source ◽  
Upstream Direction ◽  
Water Accounting ◽  
Value Of Water ◽  
Value Flow ◽  
High Level

Arjen Hoekstra postulated in 2001 that the value of water accumulates in an upstream direction: water value flows upstream. The ultimate source of this value is the rain. This original idea he used to develop the water value-flow concept. This article shows that the water value-flow concept has much to offer in terms of contemporary challenges. It is fully consistent with the "Five Bellagio Principles on Valuing Water" that the High Level Panel of Water published in 2017, and can make significant contributions to the first four principles. This article also shows that the concept can make many more contributions, including incorporating precipitationsheds, and thus include the source areas of rainfall in valuing water. Yet, until now, this innovative and potentially ground breaking concept has been largely ignored by researchers and practitioners in the fields of water resources management and economics. We conclude that the value-flow concept is a unique and promising framework for the integrated assessment of the value of water within a water resources system or river basin. We suggest that the concept can be enriched by incorporating instream benefits, water quality, as well as social, cultural, and spiritual values. We also suggest to test whether the concept can be usefully applied, and add value, to the emerging fields of socio-hydrology and water accounting.

scholarly journals Water Footprint of Food Consumption by Chinese Residents

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (20) ◽  
pp. 3979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Qing Tian ◽  
Huan Hu ◽  
Miao Yu
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Green Water ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Rural Residents ◽  
Consumption Structure ◽  
Gray Water

Water shortages are a worldwide problem. Virtual water and the water footprint link water resources, human beings and agricultural products, and are effective tools to alleviate water-resources stress. The production of agricultural products consumes a large amount of water, and food is the most basic consumer good for human survival, so it is very necessary to study the water footprint of residents’ food consumption, which is also the weak point of current research on virtual water and the water footprint. This paper aimed to conduct a comprehensive analysis on the water footprint of food consumption in China from the perspectives of urban and rural residents, per capita water footprint, water footprint structure and food consumption structure. The results revealed that the average water footprint of residents’ food consumption was 605.12 billion m3/year, basically showing an upward trend. Guangdong residents had the highest water footprint for food consumption due to the highest population and higher consumption of water-intensive foodstuffs such as grain and meat in their diet. The water footprint of Xizang residents’ food consumption was the lowest followed by Ningxia and Qinghai due to having the least population. The water footprint of food consumption consumed by urban residents was on the rise while that consumed by rural residents was on the decline in China, which was consistent with the changing trend of population. On the whole, the rural population consumed more virtual water embedded in food than the urban population. From the water footprint structure point, the contribution rate of the green water footprint is the largest, reaching 69.36%. The second is the gray water footprint and then the blue water footprint, accounting for 18.71% and 11.93%, respectively. From the perspective of the food consumption structure, grain and pig, beef and mutton consumption contributed significantly to the total water footprint of residents’ food consumption, contributing 37.5% and 22.56%, respectively. The study is helpful for water management and water allocation in rural and urban areas, improving agricultural technology to reduce the gray water footprint and optimizing food consumption structure, such as reducing the consumption of grain and meat.

Assessing marine equivalent virtual water supplied by the ocean: a case study of China's coastal areas

Water Policy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 722-741
Author(s):  
Caizhi Sun ◽  
Mengfei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Water System ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
System Structure ◽  
Future Research

Abstract ‘Virtual water’ represents water resources consumed by industrial, agricultural, and other human activities. Virtual water flow is significant for coordinating the global water balance, but most current research has focused on land. In this study, marine products or services are introduced into the research framework of virtual water, and the concept of ‘marine equivalent virtual water’ is introduced. The formulas are proposed from three aspects: food, environment, and power generation. The calculation results for China's marine equivalent virtual water content from 2006 to 2015 show a U-shaped characteristic in which different factors change in importance over time. In addition, the marine equivalent virtual water system structure is analyzed and forecasted for China's coastal areas by 2025. Through the changes in the marine equivalent virtual water system entropy, the research area is divided into three development types: equilibrium, orderly, and change. Each area can be targeted to put forward development proposals. The marine equivalent virtual water proposition quantifies the function of the ocean in the supply of freshwater resources. It provides a new perspective for relieving pressure on terrestrial water resources and is of great significance to water resource management and water policy formulation; this concept should be built upon in future research.

scholarly journals Optimal water allocation based on agricultural and environmental water value

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Hatamkhani ◽  
Ali Moridi
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Environmental Water ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Environmental Flow ◽  
Wetland Ecosystem ◽  
Water Value ◽  
Total Economic Value

Abstract Despite the significant role of wetlands in maintaining a healthy ecosystem and providing various ecosystem services, they are under threat due to human activities and agriculture use. The fact that the economic value of ecosystem services is not considered in hydro-economic models and integrated water resources management is a key issue that affects the ecosystem and its degradation. the economic value of ecosystem services provides a quantitative and important basis for the reasonable management of water resources. Given that supplying the agriculture and environmental demands conflict with each other, achieving a balance between these goals is very important. So, in this study, a simulation-optimization (WEAP-PSO) approach is employed for optimal planning at the basin and designing environmental flow based on wetland ecosystem services. The objective function of the problem is considered to be the total economic value of the river, which includes the economic value of the agricultural sector and the economic value of the wetland ecosystem services. The decision variables of the problem are considered as, the cultivation area of agricultural units and environmental flow of Kani Barazan wetland. The results show that considering these two objectives together, in addition to sustainable development, causes the highest economic efficiency in the basin.

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