The Impact of Consumption Patterns and Urbanization on the Cross-Regional Water Footprint in China: A Decomposition Analysis

The increasingly urbanized population and corresponding consumption changes are causing the household water footprint to rise. However, the quantity of these changes remains to be determined. Here, we combine a two-stage factor reversible structural decomposition analysis with multi-regional input-output analysis to explore the hidden driving forces of the changes in the household water footprint and the impacts of urbanization and consumption patterns on the cross-regional water footprint from 2012 to 2017. The results show that the national household water footprint dropped from 292.33 billion m(3) to 291.18 billion m(3) and exhibited a decreasing trend in the east and an increasing trend in the west; the driving factors were classified and ranked as technological level (-75.6 billion m(3)), consumption patterns (52.6 billion m(3)) and population (21.8 billion m(3)). Among all driving factors, both urbanization and the associated consumption pattern transformation caused an increase in the cross-regional water footprint, except in several developed provinces, such as Shanghai and Guangdong, which suggested that decoupling might exist between economic development and the water footprint. Overall, heterogeneous policies were suggested to be made according to local water resource endowments and their positions in the production chain. Our results clarify the effects of different socio-economic factors on the cross-regional water footprint during the process of urbanization and provide refined insights for future water conservation.

Automated summary

The household water footprint is increasing due to urbanization and changes in consumption patterns. Nationally, the household water footprint decreased, with a declining trend in the east and an increasing trend in the west. Technological level, consumption patterns, and population were identified as the main driving factors. Urbanization and consumption pattern transformation resulted in an increase in the cross-regional water footprint, except in some developed provinces where decoupling between economic development and water footprint was observed. Heterogeneous policies should be implemented according to local water resource endowments and position in the production chain.