Abstract
The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is an important grain and energy production base in China. However, the sustainable development of the YRB is constrained by water scarcity. Identifying the key factors influencing water use changes through the lens of the Water–Energy–Food Nexus (WEF-Nexus) is essential for sustainable resource use in the YRB. This study analyzed the spatial and temporal changes in water use in the energy and food sectors from 2000 to 2020 and identified the key factors influencing water use changes based on the generalized Divisia index method. Then, the water use change induced by the WEF-Nexus was evaluated. The results indicated that (1) the scale of energy production is the key factor leading to increased water use, with a total contribution of 21.345 billion m3 from 2000 to 2020. The intensity of energy water use is the key factor in inhibiting increased water use, reducing regional water use by 18.853 billion m3. (2) In the past 20 years, the changes in water use by energy and food production in the midstream and downstream regions showed nonsignificant downward trends and upward trends in the upstream region. Thus, the stability and sustainability of water use downstream have strengthened, while the water use sustainability upstream and the stability of water use midstream should further increase. This paper will support sustainable water use in the YRB.
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Data availability
The agriculture water use data, the food production data, the energy production data, the primary and secondary industry value-added and the quota of energy water use data during the current study are available from the Statistical Yearbook, Economic and Social Development Statistical bulletin and Water Resources Bulletin in every prefecture-level city from 2000 to 2020, as well as provincial Statistical Yearbook. We promised that the data are feasible and accurate.
Code availability
The R language is used in this study, and the codes used in this paper are supported by important literature.
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42041007).
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YS involved in conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data curation, formal analysis, writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing. YG involved in supervision, conceptualization, methodology, investigation, validation, visualization, and writing—review and editing. YS involved in supervision, conceptualization, methodology, investigation, funding acquisition, and writing—review and editing. YG involved in data curation, and writing—review and editing. LW involved in data curation and writing—review and editing.
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Yilin, S., Ying, G., Yuanyuan, G. et al. Evaluating water resources sustainability of water-scarcity basin from a scope of WEF-Nexus decomposition: the case of Yellow River Basin. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04586-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04586-6