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Frontiers of Earth Science

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Front Earth Sci    0, Vol. Issue () : 331-344    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-012-0305-3
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Global network of embodied water flow by systems input-output simulation
Zhanming CHEN1, Guoqian CHEN2(), Xiaohua XIA3, Shiyun XU4
1. School of Economics, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China; 2. State Key Laboratory of Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; 3. Institute of China’s Economic Reform & Development, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China; 4. China Electric Power Research Institute, Beijing 100192, China
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Abstract

The global water resources network is simulated in the present work for the latest target year with statistical data available and with the most detailed data disaggregation. A top-down approach of systems input-output simulation is employed to track the embodied water flows associated with economic flows for the globalized economy in 2004. The numerical simulation provides a database of embodied water intensities for all economic commodities from 4928 producers, based on which the differences between direct and indirect water using efficiencies at the global scale are discussed. The direct and embodied water uses are analyzed at continental level. Besides, the commodity demand in terms of monetary expenditure and the water demand in terms of embodied water use are compared for the world as well as for three major water using regions, i.e., India, China, and the United States. Results show that food product contributes to a significant fraction for water demand, despite the value varies significantly with respect to the economic status of region.
Keywords embodied flow      international trade      water resources      world economy     
Corresponding Author(s): CHEN Guoqian,Email:gqchen@pku.edu.cn   
Issue Date: 05 September 2012
 Cite this article:   
Zhanming CHEN,Guoqian CHEN,Xiaohua XIA, et al. Global network of embodied water flow by systems input-output simulation[J]. Front Earth Sci, 0, (): 331-344.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-012-0305-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y0/V/I/331
From/ToCommodity and water
Intermediate useFinal demand
Region 1…Region rRegion 1…Region r
Sector 1…Sector n1Sector 1…Sector nr
CommodityRegion 1Sector 1Part IIPart III
…
Sector n1
…
Region rSector 1
…
Sector nr
WaterPart I
Tab.1  Schematic multi-region systems I/O table associated with water resources (revised according to Chen, 2011)
Fig.1  Physical balance of embodied water flows for Producer (revised according to Chen, 2011)
Fig.2  Embodied water intensities of the 44 sectors at the global scale
RegionDirect water use/(Gm3)Embodied water use/(Gm3)Contributions of activitiesContributions of commodities
Household ConsumptionGovernment ConsumptionInvestmentAgricultural ProductProcessed FoodNon-food Product
Africa26125487%5%8%49%23%27%
Asia2461224884%5%11%47%22%31%
Europe46466076%8%16%17%21%63%
North America63570674%6%20%13%21%65%
Oceania293176%7%18%18%21%60%
South America16511584%7%10%20%28%53%
World4014401481%6%13%35%22%43%
Tab.2  Direct and embodied water uses at continental and global levels
Fig.3  Demand patterns of the world: (a) monetary expenditure; (b) embodied water use (in this and the following figures, “Agriculture” stands for “Agricultural Product,” “Resources” stands for “Mining, Extraction, and Utility,” “Food” stands for “Processed Food,” “Light” stands for “Other Light Manufacture,” “Heavy” stands for “Other Heavy Manufacture,” “Trade” stands for “Trade, Transportation, and Communications,” “Others” stands for “Other service”; direct water use for final demand is omitted for embodied water use account)
Fig.4  Demand patterns of India: (a) monetary expenditure; (b) embodied water use
Fig.5  Demand patterns of China: (a) monetary expenditure; (b) embodied water use
Fig.6  Demand patterns of the United States: (a) monetary expenditure; (b) embodied water use
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