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The Evaluation of Water Footprints and Sustainable Water Utilization in Beijing

Author

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  • Dongchun Ma

    (State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
    Beijing Water Science and Technology Institute, Beijing 100048, China)

  • Chaofan Xian

    (State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China)

  • Jing Zhang

    (Department of Quantitative & Technical Economics, Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 102488, China)

  • Ruochen Zhang

    (Department of Quantitative & Technical Economics, Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 102488, China)

  • Zhiyun Ouyang

    (State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China)

Abstract

The water footprint approach is superior to the traditional approaches applied in water management. The water footprint can be regarded as a comprehensive indicator of freshwater resources appropriation, next to the traditional and restricted measure of water withdrawal. This study took the megacity of Beijing in North China as a case study to evaluate the sustainability of water utilization by calculating the water footprint in 2007 and 2010, based on real and virtual water consumption. The results show that the water footprint of the inhabitants of Beijing is decreasing, while the degree of water import dependency is increasing. Although the pressure of water scarcity in Beijing was slightly alleviated, the current situation of water shortage remains an enormous challenge, as the water footprint per capita is nearly 10 times higher than the water resources available. Therefore, water utilization in Beijing remains unsustainable. The improvement of water resources utilization efficiency, that encompasses water saving, is proposed as a key measure in the mitigation of water shortage.

Suggested Citation

  • Dongchun Ma & Chaofan Xian & Jing Zhang & Ruochen Zhang & Zhiyun Ouyang, 2015. "The Evaluation of Water Footprints and Sustainable Water Utilization in Beijing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(10), pages 1-16, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:10:p:13206-13221:d:56438
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    9. Zhenzhen Zhao & Aiwen Lin & Jiandi Feng & Qian Yang & Ling Zou, 2016. "Analysis of Water Resources in Horqin Sandy Land Using Multisource Data from 2003 to 2010," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-18, April.
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