Water transfer infrastructure buffers water scarcity risks to supply chains

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Water Resource Management
• Economic Geography

Background:

• China's expanding inter-basin water transfer (IBWT) infrastructure aims to meet water demands in populated and industrial regions.
• Water scarcity poses a significant threat to national supply chains, impacting production and distribution.
• The role of IBWT in transmitting or buffering water scarcity within supply chains remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether inter-basin water transfer infrastructure transmits or buffers water scarcity across supply chains.
• To quantify the impact of IBWT on virtual scarce water within China's national supply chain.
• To assess the effectiveness of IBWT in mitigating water scarcity risks for production and consumption.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a national database of inter-basin water transfer projects.
• Employed multi-region input-output analysis to trace water and virtual scarce water.
• Analyzed water flows from sourcing basins to production sites and end consumers.

Main Results:

• Physically transferred water volumes via IBWT doubled between 2007 and 2017, supporting increasing production and consumption.
• Virtual scarce water constitutes approximately half of the virtual water supporting the national supply chain.
• IBWT significantly reduced virtual scarce water in most provinces, decreasing water scarcity exposure by up to 56.7% for production and 15.0% for final consumption.

Conclusions:

• Inter-basin water transfer infrastructure effectively buffers water scarcity risks within supply chains.
• IBWT development is a vital consideration for water management and sustainable development policies.
• IBWT plays a critical role in ensuring the resilience of economic activities against water scarcity.