Water-energy-food nexus in China: An interregional comparison

• Published in: Agricultural water management Vol. 301; p. 108964
• Main Authors: Li, Yuqin, Zhang, Lixiao, Zhang, Pengpeng, Li, Xinqing, Hao, Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.08.2024; Elsevier
• Subjects: Blue water footprint; Regional inequality; Water use competition; Water-energy-food nexus; Water use competition; Regional inequality; Water-energy-food nexus; Blue water footprint
• ISSN: 0378-3774; 1873-2283
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2024.108964

The geographical mismatch between water availability and demand further exacerbates the challenge of the water-energy-food nexus in China. This study characterizes competing water uses for crops and energy to reveal their resulting impacts on regional inequality by integrating the modified Gini coefficient and unbalanced index with respect to water scarcity and water surplus. From 2000–2019, China’s food production decreased by 2.3 % in the blue water footprint (ranging from −90.3 % to 71.7 % for specific provinces), while the energy sector increased by 111.9 % (varying from −69.9 % to 692.4 %). The energy sector showed greater inequality in blue water consumption verses available water, with the Gini coefficient ranged from 0.43 to 0.62, while the food-water nexus maintained a relatively stable value of approximately 0.35. Spatially, there was consistent water scarcity inequality in the north and water surplus inequality in the south for both the food-water and the energy-water nexus. Overall, the energy-water nexus exhibited larger variations in provincial inequalities. This divergent evolving inequality was primarily caused by a combination of factors that included resource endowments, regional economic disparities, and government interventions. These findings can inform policy makers towards optimizing the management of water-energy-food resources. •Water-energy-food nexus is assessed based on water scarcity-surplus.•Energy-water nexus shows greater inequality and spatio-temporal variations.•Inequalities of water scarcity and surplus occur in North and South, respectively.•The inequality is a result of resource endowments, economic disparities, and policies.