Mapping spatial supply chain paths for embodied water flows driven by food demand in China

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Water Resource Management
• Agricultural Economics

Background:

• Quantifying water use in food demand is crucial for policy development.
• Previous studies often overlook intermediate supply chain water transfer paths.
• Understanding spatial supply chain dynamics is essential for effective water resource management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify critical spatial supply chain paths for embodied water flows driven by food demand in China.
• To provide spatially explicit insights for targeted water-saving policies.
• To characterize step-by-step water transfer stages within and among regions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a multi-regional input-output model.
• Employed structural path analysis to trace water flows.
• Exhaustively identified critical spatial supply chain paths for provincial water withdrawals.

Main Results:

• Final food product demand from key sectors (e.g., agricultural processing, rice, swine) and regions (e.g., Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Guangdong) drives significant water withdrawals.
• Critical paths highlight the need for increased efficiency in rice, poultry, cotton, water, and gas product use within agricultural processing, food manufacturing, and catering.
• Interregional paths reveal opportunities for cooperation, such as technology transfer from Shandong's agricultural processing to Xinjiang's cotton and Heilongjiang's rice production.

Conclusions:

• Identified critical supply chain paths offer spatially explicit hotspots for demand-side water-saving policies.
• Findings support targeted interventions in specific sectors and regions to reduce national water withdrawals.
• The study provides a framework for evaluating water-saving measures at each stage of the food supply chain.