The potential role of virtual water in solving water scarcity and food security problems in China

CORC > 生态环境研究中心 > 中国科学院生态环境研究中心 > 城市与区域生态国家重点实验室

	The potential role of virtual water in solving water scarcity and food security problems in China
	Zhao, FZ; Liu, WH; Deng, HB
刊名	INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY
	2005
卷号	12 期号:4 页码:419-428
关键词	policy relevance agriculture food production water resources food imports
英文摘要	Water, as a source of food security, plays an essential role in ensuring sustainable food resources for a growing population. However, water scarcity has increasingly become a constraint to economic development, particularly food production. The water-food challenge is impending because of China's increasing population and water demand. The concept of virtual water is useful to analyze this problem. In this paper, the implications and policy relevance of virtual water are expounded. Based on imported food volumes, it is calculated that an annual average of 10.52 X 16(9)m(3) of virtual water embodied in imported wheat and maize in the period between 1990 and 2000 is equivalent to 23% of the annual average transfer water volume of the South-North Water Transfer (SNWT) project. Consequently, this 29.3 x 10(6) ha of virtual land is equivalent to 19% of China's arable land in 2000. Using the grain import prediction and the agricultural production conditions of China, the virtual water equivalents of China in 2010 and 2020 arc evaluated, and are about 88 x 10(9) m(3) in 2010 and 95 x 10(9) m(3) in 2020, respectively. Importing virtual water embedded in traded food can alleviate water stress and even achieve food security. Virtual water trade may compensate for water demands for not only the past but also the future. Meanwhile, water trade can store water in its virtual water form, enabling food storage to play a potential role in solving food problems, as well as promoting sustainability of water resources in China.
学科主题	Environmental Sciences & Ecology
研究领域[WOS]	Environmental Sciences & Ecology
WOS记录号	WOS:000235561600006
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://ir.rcees.ac.cn/handle/311016/23118]
专题	生态环境研究中心_城市与区域生态国家重点实验室
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Zhao, FZ,Liu, WH,Deng, HB. The potential role of virtual water in solving water scarcity and food security problems in China[J]. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY,2005,12(4):419-428.
APA	Zhao, FZ,Liu, WH,&Deng, HB.(2005).The potential role of virtual water in solving water scarcity and food security problems in China.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY,12(4),419-428.
MLA	Zhao, FZ,et al."The potential role of virtual water in solving water scarcity and food security problems in China".INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY 12.4(2005):419-428.