流域比较视角的钱塘江与黑河流域水资源问题及对策研究——基于水足迹核算分析

产品贸易及水权交易使得水资源问题"跨流域化",不再单纯是流域内部管理问题。本文从流域比较视角出发,在区分蓝、绿、灰三种水足迹的基础上,应用水足迹模型,测算了两流域典型地区的水足迹,进行流域水资源问题对比分析,并分析了经济发展模式对流域水资源可持续性的影响。结果发现,杭州市经济用水中灰色水足迹占总量的90%,而张掖市经济用水中绿色水足迹占总量的60.8%,说明钱塘江流域水资源问题在于质,而黑河流域水资源问题在于量;经济发展模式中的产业结构、水资源开发效率、工业化路径等影响流域水资源可持续利用,同时基于GDP导向的流域间的水资源逆向配置,更加剧了流域水资源矛盾。最后根据流域对比结果提出治理措施,从而形成流域间协作的良性循环。     

水资源短缺的有效解决途径——虚拟水战略

针对中国水资源利用现状，系统论述了水足迹、虚拟水以及虚拟水战略的概念和内涵。通过水足迹来揭示人类对水资源的实际需求和占用，介绍了虚拟水战略的研究展望及存在的不足，通过应用虚拟水战略可以缓解水资源短缺现状，保证水资源与人口、耕地的地域组合均衡。     

湖南城乡居民虚拟水消费结构及其用水效率评价

运用水足迹方法,根据2000—2008年的统计资料,对湖南省城乡居民虚拟水消费结构和城乡居民用水效率进行综合评价。结果表明,近年来湖南省总水足迹和人均水足迹均呈下降趋势;城镇居民虚拟水消费结构多样性指数值高于农村,城镇居民消费观念和消费模式更为合理;虚拟水消费结构多样性指数整体呈上升趋势,居民消费结构逐渐转向多元化;社会水资源稀缺指数不高,水资源利用还有较大空间,利用效率有了明显提高。     

水资源生态足迹分析——以安康市为例

根据生态足迹分析方法,建立了水资源生态足迹概念模型,确定了计算水资源帐户生态足迹所需的3个关键参数,即平均水资源产量、均衡因子和地区产量因子,计算了安康市1996—2007年水资源生态足迹和生态承载力。引入水资源生态足迹压力指数、万元GDP水资源生态足迹、累积水资源生态足迹等指标,利用水足迹模型评价水资源可持续发展程度的全面性和对比性。结果表明,计算结果可客观评价安康市水资源可持续发展与利用情况,为地区水资源的可持续利用与管理提供了科学的依据。     

灰水足迹研究进展与方法学改进

灰水足迹是水足迹的重要组成部分,定义为稀释污染物所需的水量。灰水足迹作为水污染的体积量化指标,已得到国际学术界广泛应用。然而,由于底层数据缺乏和方法体系限制,灰水足迹研究尚无法为实践管理提供有效支持。本文剖析了灰水足迹评价的必要性及相关概念内涵,从灰水足迹核算方法及适用范围、演化机制、基于灰水足迹的虚拟水流动路径解析等方面综述其研究进展。在此基础上,分析当前灰水足迹核算方法的局限性并提出改进思路。同时,为实现灰水足迹深度应用,进一步阐述未来研究的重点方向,包括构建高时空分辨率灰水足迹数据库、基于实体—虚拟灰水耦合流动格局推动生态补偿机制和推进灰水足迹标签制度以消费侧选择引导生产侧绿色转型。     

吉林省玉米生长过程水足迹研究

通过对吉林省玉米生长过程水足迹的计算,探讨了不同降水年型玉米生长过程水足迹及其水分来源的变化规律,并利用ArcGIS软件对吉林省玉米生长过程水足迹空间差异进行了分析。结果表明,吉林省玉米生长过程水足迹以绿水足迹为主,占50%左右;对比不同降水年型玉米生长过程水足迹,枯水年最高,平水年次之,丰水年最低;玉米生长过程水足迹空间差异明显,中部地区玉米生长过程水足迹最高,其次是西部地区,东部地区最低。     

河南冬小麦—夏玉米生产耗水结构及其时空差异分析——基于水足迹视角

以2006—2015年河南省18个地市资料为基础,基于水足迹理论对该省冬小麦、夏玉米生产耗水进行了计算并分析了其构成,同时运用空间自相关分析了其时空差异。结果显示:①在年际变化方面,河南省冬小麦生产水足迹总体呈递减趋势,其中郑州、开封和信阳3市的降幅最大;夏玉米生产水足迹随着年际间降水量丰枯而波动较大。②在空间分布特征方面,河南省冬小麦生产水足迹高值区和低值区分别形成显著的集聚区,夏玉米表现为集聚性不显著。③在作物生产耗水构成方面,河南省冬小麦蓝水足迹占生产水足迹的比值高于夏玉米,呈北高南低的分布特征;夏玉米绿水足迹占生产水足迹的比值高于冬小麦,表明时空分布不均的降水资源在农业生产中的不同作用程度,应加强对农业生产主要供水来源——降水资源的有效利用。     

基于水资源承载力的内蒙古虚拟水贸易研究

运用水资源生态足迹公式对内蒙古自治区2007—2012年的水资源状况进行分析,得出内蒙古一直处于生态赤字状态,并在过度消耗地下水资源。通过联合国粮农组织推荐的CROPWAT软件计算内蒙古2011年主要农畜产品的虚拟水含量,发现内蒙古的支柱产业都是虚拟水消耗较大的产品,农牧产品贸易也随着大量的虚拟水流出。基于内蒙古虚拟水贸易存在的问题,提出单位产值虚拟水消耗的概念,从经济和虚拟水的整体出发寻找解决水资源紧缺的合理方法,实现内蒙古经济的可持续发展。     

基于价值创造视角的公司水风险管理研究

随着全球水资源供应不确定性与需求竞争性的加剧,水资源问题已从单纯的环境问题转化为经济问题,水风险逐渐与商业风险挂钩,公司面临的水风险不断上升。公司面临着物理风险、监管风险和声誉风险等水风险,公司水价值体现在业务连续性、经营牌照、声誉与品牌价值和创新价值等无形资产中。水风险与水价值二者相互联系又相互影响,通过公司水价值与水风险评估框架,了解区分水价值的不同方法,明确风险和不确定性如何影响水的价值,并利用水工具评估和管理公司所面临的水风险以及水对公司价值的影响,帮助公司化解其所面临的水风险,实现从公司水风险管理到价值创造的转变。     

虚拟水视角下居民消费特征分析——2006-2012年河南省与甘肃省的比较

21世纪人类面临的最为严峻的现实问题之一是水资源危机,如何在迅速变革的世界中实现水资源安全迫在眉睫.人口增长、经济发展和生活方式改变,使水资源更加紧张,实际上造成这种情况的主要原因各个地区有所不同.通过计算与比较中部河南省、西部甘肃省典型地区2006-2012年城镇各收入群体虚拟水消费量,分析了地区间虚拟水消费的特征与差异性,并通过收入群组的虚拟水消费多样性指数与虚拟消费掠夺现象分析,初步揭示了通过调整消费模式,实施地区内部与区域间虚拟水战略,实现趋向可持续性消费模式的空间与潜力.     

Testing the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for water footprint indicator: a cross-sectional study

The water footprint analysis has become a rapidly growing field of research although little attention has been paid to its relationship with economic growth. Using the available cross-section data, this study examines how the per capita water footprint varies as a function of per capita income within the environmental Kuznets curve framework at both aggregated and disaggregated level of water footprint. In addition, the issue of omitted variables is investigated by incorporating a number of control variables. Estimation results show no evidence in favour of an inverted-U environmental Kuznets curve, but they yield, in most cases, an evolution into an N-shaped relationship. This means that water footprint rises in the beginning with incomes, then falls as nations grow wealthier to rise again at very high income levels. This calls into question the traditional economic view of income growth sustainability as it applies to water.     

An Application of a Modified Ecological Footprint Method and Structural Path Analysis in a Comparative Institutional Study

This paper presents an application of a modified ecological footprint method, using a regional, disturbance-based approach. In contrast to conventional institutional ecological footprint calculations, energy and land use resulting from all upstream production processes are explored by employing an input-output framework. Ecological footprints are calculated for two research institutions: the School of Physics (SoP) at the University of Sydney, and the Sustainable Ecosystems (CSE) Department of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. These are broken down further in terms of land disturbance and greenhouse gas emissions, and as a function of production layer. To enable the use of the results in policy formulation, the ecological footprints are decomposed into detailed contributing paths, which are ranked according to their importance, using structural path analysis. The paper demonstrates that a considerable proportion of impacts occur upstream in industrial production. Thus a significant result of the study is the weight of obscure paths in the total footprints and, therefore, the importance of conducting an holistic assessment in order to ensure all upstream contributions are captured in the final impact of the institution.     

An Application of a Modified Ecological Footprint Method and Structural Path Analysis in a Comparative Institutional Study

This paper presents an application of a modified ecological footprint method, using a regional, disturbance-based approach. In contrast to conventional institutional ecological footprint calculations, energy and land use resulting from all upstream production processes are explored by employing an input-output framework. Ecological footprints are calculated for two research institutions: the School of Physics (SoP) at the University of Sydney, and the Sustainable Ecosystems (CSE) Department of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. These are broken down further in terms of land disturbance and greenhouse gas emissions, and as a function of production layer. To enable the use of the results in policy formulation, the ecological footprints are decomposed into detailed contributing paths, which are ranked according to their importance, using structural path analysis. The paper demonstrates that a considerable proportion of impacts occur upstream in industrial production. Thus a significant result of the study is the weight of obscure paths in the total footprints and, therefore, the importance of conducting an holistic assessment in order to ensure all upstream contributions are captured in the final impact of the institution.     

The ecological footprint of Santiago de Chile

In the case of Santiago de Chile, this paper explains how the ecological footprint of a city can be calculated and how this footprint can be compared with the biological capacity available for human use. As ecological footprints provide an easily communicable way of measuring the ecological bottom-line condition for sustainability, it is a useful tool for promoting a sustainable future. It is particularly useful for cities, as it is in cities where the battle for sustainability will be won or lost. While cities are the largest contributors to Gross World Product, they are also the largest consumers and waste producers. This is particularly critical in a world that is already overloaded with human activities and, in addition, is rapidly urbanizing. To make cities win the battle for sustainability we must understand the economics of cities, not just in monetary terms, but in terms of resource allocation. Human activities depend on the provision of resources, the absorption of waste and other essential life-support functions only nature can supply. Each of these services occupies land and water areas, and we can therefore calculate how much ecologically productive area is necessary to exclusively support these human activities. This area is called the 'ecological footprint'. The rough assessment presented here shows its application as a motivational tool for developing more sustainable cities — cities with a better quality of life and smaller ecological footprints. However, the presented method provides a basis for more detailed analyses which would be essential for the planning of such cities. Still, this paper shows a matrix that lists which activity occupies which kind of ecological function and a distribution of footprints among the citizens of Santiago. The corresponding spreadsheet with all the calculations and references is available from ICLEI's website or it can be obtained directly from the author.     

Economic and environmental analysis of standard, high efficiency, rainwater flushed, and composting toilets

The current sanitation technology in developed countries is based on diluting human excreta with large volumes of centrally provided potable water. This approach is a poor use of water resources and is also inefficient, expensive, and energy intensive. The goal of this study was to compare the standard sanitation technology (Scenario 1) with alternative technologies that require less or no potable water use in toilets. The alternative technologies considered were high efficiency toilets flushed with potable water (Scenario 2), standard toilets flushed with rainwater (Scenario 3), high efficiency toilets flushed with rainwater (Scenario 4), and composting toilets (Scenario 5). Cost, energy, and carbon implications of these five design scenarios were studied using two existing University of Toledo buildings. The results showed that alternative systems modeled in Scenarios 2, 4, and 5 were viable options both from an investment and an environmental performance perspective. High efficiency fixtures that use potable water (Scenario 2) is often the most preferred method in high efficiency buildings due to reduced water use and associated reductions in annual water and wastewater costs. However, the cost, energy, and CO(2)EE analyses all showed that Scenarios 4 and 5 were preferable over Scenario 2. Cost payback periods of scenarios 2, 4 and 5 were less than 10 years; in the future, increase in water and wastewater services would further decrease the payback periods. The centralized water and wastewater services have high carbon footprints; therefore if carbon footprint reduction is a primary goal of a building complex, alternative technologies that require less potable water and generate less wastewater can largely reduce the carbon footprint. High efficiency fixtures flushed with rainwater (Scenario 4) and composting toilets (Scenario 5) required considerably less energy than direct energy demands of buildings. However, the annual carbon footprint of these technologies was comparable to the annual carbon footprint from space heating. Similarly, the carbon savings that could be achieved from Scenario 4 or 5 were comparable to a recycling program that can be implemented in buildings.     

Impact of closed-loop network configurations on carbon footprints: A case study in copiers

Growing concerns about the environment make a supply chains’ eco-footprint increasingly important, presuming that footprints are a more effective (policy) instrument than those currently in use. The eco-footprint comprises all kinds of environmental impact, but often is narrowed down to one aspect; e.g. the carbon footprint, material footprint, the water footprint, and so on. Although returns give rise to an additional goods flow from customers back to producers, it usually improves the eco-footprint due to the substitution effect. The reverse channel supplies high quality (recovered) products, components and materials to the forward channel thereby reducing the need for virgin sourcing and production. We refer to this as closed-loop recovery, as opposed to recovery for cascade markets which lacks substitution. To maximize substitution, the recovered items must re-enter the original supply chain. The feasibility of closed-loop recovery depends partly on the geographical proximity of forward and reverse facilities. We develop a decision framework for optimizing closed loop network configurations, i.e. the combined disposition and location–transport decision. We apply the framework to a single case study concerning one type of footprint (namely the carbon footprint) of a copier (closed-loop) supply chain. The main implication is that a regional network, with combined forward and reverse facilities per continent, proves most efficient and most robust in view of uncertain exogenous variables, but only when a full set of closed-loop options is available (including closed-loop recycling). As an embedded case, main contribution value of it lies in the discovery of a new phenomenon with generic implications; namely that not only the closed-loop supply chains footprint strongly depends on the substitution effect, but that in turn the feasibility of closed-loop recovery options depends heavily on the network design. From delineations of the study we derive issues for further research.