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Research on the Economic Value of Virtual Water
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Research on the Economic Value of Virtual Water

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Use and Scarcity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 June 2021) | Viewed by 5501

Special Issue Editor

Prof. David R. Oglethorpe

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Management, Cranfield University, MK43 0AL, UK
Interests: environmental sustainability; economic value of water; ecological economics; climate change; water footprint

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Significant research has been undertaken and data generated around the use of virtual water—the water embedded in products through their production processes. However, literature in this area has largely focused on physical or volumetric water footprints. In attempting to make resource allocation decisions, physical measurement alone does not directly allow us to consider issues around relative resource scarcity and relative pricing, particualrly of ‘blue’ water. In addition, the concept of ‘grey’ water as a negative externality cannot be considered in relation to its environmental cost in the context of where it is produced. Recent research has, however, begun to explore ways by which the economic value of virtual water can be estimated, internalised or adapted to help to better solve water allocation problems, both within and across geographical boundaries. 

The aim of this Special Issue is to push the boundaries of research into the economic value of virtual water. We invite papers that look at the development of methodologies to estimate the economic value of virtual water, examine that value across product flows and supply chains, suggest policy responses to internalise the economic value of virtual water, or provide interesting new datasets that can help to widen the application of exisitng methodologies to virtual water distribution problems.

Prof. David R. Oglethorpe
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • virtual water
  • environmental values
  • valuation methods
  • grey water internalisation
  • resource allocation
  • policy intervention
  • distribution effects

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 5122 KiB  
Article
Research on the Measurement and Influencing Factors of Implicit Water Resources in Import and Export Trade from the Perspective of Global Value Chains
by Min Huang, Chengying Xu, Fengting Wang, Lichun Xiong and Kai Zhou
Water 2021, 13(11), 1498; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13111498 - 27 May 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2752
Abstract
In this study, China’s virtual water trade was measured on the basis of multi-region input/output tables, and its influencing factors of change were decomposed. The results revealed that virtual water export and import increased from 161.5 billion tons and 114.07 billion tons in [...] Read more.
In this study, China’s virtual water trade was measured on the basis of multi-region input/output tables, and its influencing factors of change were decomposed. The results revealed that virtual water export and import increased from 161.5 billion tons and 114.07 billion tons in 2007 to 193.31 billion tons and 157.1 billion tons in 2014, respectively. Eight economies accounted for more than 50% of China’s total virtual water export and import, whereby the total of the United States, Japan, and Europe reached 44% (export) and 31.3% (import). The export scale, export of intermediate products, export industry structure, domestic water consumption coefficient, and domestic intermediate input structure were the main factors of the change in virtual water export. The growth of export scale was the primary reason for the growth of virtual water export. A decline in the domestic water consumption coefficient was the primary reason for the restrained growth of virtual water export. The import scale, import of intermediate products, import industry structure, water consumption coefficient of foreign countries, and the correlation among domestic industries were the main factors affecting the change in virtual water import. The growth of import scale was the primary reason for the growth of virtual water import in most sectors. A decline in the water consumption coefficient abroad was the primary reason for the restrained growth of virtual water import. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Economic Value of Virtual Water)
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15 pages, 2928 KiB  
Article
Will Maize-Based Cropping Systems Reduce Water Consumption without Compromise of Food Security in the North China Plain?
by Jia Yang, Jixiao Cui, Ziqin Lv, Mengmeng Ran, Beibei Sun, Peng Sui and Yuanquan Chen
Water 2020, 12(10), 2946; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12102946 - 21 Oct 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2192
Abstract
The winter wheat–summer maize double cropping system caused overexploitation of groundwater in the North China Plain; it is unsustainable and threatens food security and the overall wellbeing of humankind in the region. Finding water-saving cropping systems without compromising food security is a more [...] Read more.
The winter wheat–summer maize double cropping system caused overexploitation of groundwater in the North China Plain; it is unsustainable and threatens food security and the overall wellbeing of humankind in the region. Finding water-saving cropping systems without compromising food security is a more likely solution. In this study, six alternative cropping systems’ water conservation and food supply capacity were compared simultaneously. A combined water footprint method was applied to analyze the cropping systems’ water consumption. The winter wheat–summer maize system had the largest water consumption (16,585 m3/ha on average), followed by the potato/spring maize, spinach–spring maize, rye–spring maize, vetch–spring maize, pea/spring maize, soybean||spring maize and mono-spring maize cropping systems. For the groundwater, the spinach–spring maize, pea/spring maize, soybean||spring maize systems showed a higher degree of synchronization between crop growth period and rainfall, which could reduce use of groundwater by 36.8%, 54.4% and 57.6%, respectively. For food supply capacity, the values for spinach–spring maize, pea/spring maize, soybean||spring maize systems were 73.0%, 60.8% and 48.4% of winter wheat–summer maize, respectively, but they showed a better feeding efficiency than the winter wheat–summer maize system. On the whole, spinach–spring maize may be a good option to prevent further decline in groundwater level and to ensure food security in a sustainable way. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Economic Value of Virtual Water)
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