Abstract
In recent years, flows of many rivers and lakes have become reduced in arid and semi-arid regions around the world. The most typical examples of this phenomenon occur in Central Asia, and the reduction of the Aral Sea area is closely related to agricultural water use. However, due to a lack of continuous data in Central Asia spanning many years, “virtual water” is used to evaluate changes in agricultural water use. Based on virtual water theory, 325 kinds of agricultural products in eight categories are selected as the research object, and changes in virtual water are calculated for Central Asia from 1992 to 2016. Results indicate that: (1) The average annual net export of agricultural virtual water (TVWNE) in Central Asia is about 9 billion m3, concentrated in Kazakhstan, whose annual TVWNE reaches 8.1 billion m3. (2) Since 2007, the TVWNE in Central Asia has dropped significantly, with a drop rate of 86%, while the total volume of agricultural virtual water has gradually increased since 1998. (3) The upstream and downstream countries in Central Asia have different characteristics in the change of virtual water quantity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allan J A, 1992. Substitutes for water are being found in the Middle East and North Africa. GeoJournal, 28(3): 375–385.
Borgomeo E, Al-Mudaffar Fawzi N, Hall J W et al., 2020. Tackling the trickle: Ensuring sustainable water management in the Arab region. Earth’s Future, 8(5). doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ef001495.
Chen X, 2013. Development status of agriculture in Kazakhstan. World Agriculture, 12: 155–158. (in Chinese)
Chen X, Wang S, Hu Z et al., 2018. Spatiotemporal characteristics of seasonal precipitation and their relationships with ENSO in Central Asia during 1901–2013. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 28(9): 1341–1368.
Chittaranjan R, David M, Matthew S, 2018. Virtual water: Its implications on agriculture and trade. Water International, 43(6): 717–730.
Dabrowski J M, Murray K, Ashton P J, 2009. Agricultural impacts on water quality and implications for virtual water trading decisions. Ecological Economics, 68(4): 1074–1082.
Delbourg E, Dinar S, 2020. The globalization of virtual water flows: Explaining trade patterns of a scarce resource. World Development, 131. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.104917.
Deng M, Long A, Li X et al., 2010. An analysis of the exploitation, cooperation and problems of transboundary water resources in the five Central Asian countries. Advances in Earth Science, 25(12): 1337–1346. (in Chinese)
Ding Y K, Li Y P, Liu Y R, 2020. Spatial-temporal assessment of agricultural virtual water and uncertainty analysis: The case of Kazakhstan (2000–2016). Science of the Total Environment, 724. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138155.
Hu W, Liu H, Bao A et al., 2018. Influences of environmental changes on water storage variations in Central Asia. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 28(7): 985–1000.
Hu Y, Li D, 2015. The level of agricultural policy support, structural characteristics and reform orientation in Kazakhstan. World Agriculture, (2): 81–84, 116. (in Chinese)
Karimov A K, Šimůnek J, Hanjra M A et al., 2014. Effects of the shallow water table on water use of winter wheat and ecosystem health: Implications for unlocking the potential of groundwater in the Fergana Valley (Central Asia). Agricultural Water Management, 131: 57–69.
Liu H, Lv G, He X et al., 2014. Evaluation of virtual water strategy in Turkmenistan. Journal of Economics of Water Resources, 32(6): 7–11, 24, 69. (in Chinese)
Liu J, 2017. Agricultural development and land reform in Kazakhstan. World Agriculture, 6: 104–108. (in Chinese)
Ma W J, Opp C, Yang D W, 2020. Spatiotemporal supply-demand characteristics and economic benefits of crops water footprint in semi-arid region. Science of the Total Environment. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139502.
Mekonnen M M, Hoekstra A Y, 2011. The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 15: 1577–1600. doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1577-2011.
Mekonnen M M, Hoekstra A Y, 2012. A global assessment of the water footprint of farm animal products. Ecosystems, 15(3): 401–415. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-011-9517-8.
Mekonnen M M, Hoekstra A Y, 2016. Four billion people facing severe water scarcity. Science Advances, 2(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500323.
Meng F X, **a X M, Hu Y C et al., 2019. Virtual water in trade between China and typical countries along the Belt and Road. Engineering Sciences, 21(4): 92–99. (in Chinese)
Nourzhanov K, Bleuer C, 2013. Tajikistan: A Political and Social History. Place of Publication: Canberra ACT 0200, Australia. Publisher: ANUE Press.
O’Hara S L, 1997. Irrigation and land degradation: Implications for agriculture in Turkmenistan, Central Asia. Journal of Arid Environments, 37(1): 165–179.
Saccon P, 2018. Water for agriculture, irrigation management. Applied Soil Ecology, 123: 793–796.
Shi W, Wang M, Guo W, 2014. Long-term hydrological changes of the Aral Sea observed by satellites. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 119(6): 3313–3326.
Tan M, Li Y, 2019. Spatial and temporal variation of cropland at the global level from 1992 to 2015. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 10(3): 235–245.
Tashmatov A, Aknazarov F, Juraev A et al., 2000. Food policy reforms for sustainable agricultural development in Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan. Food Policy, 25(6): 719–732.
White C J, Tanton T W, Rycroft D W et al., 2014. The impact of climate change on the water resources of the Amu Darya Basin in Central Asia. Water Resources Management, 28(15): 5267–5281.
World Economic Forum, 2015. Global Risks 2015. 10th ed. World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.
Wu M, Zhang X, Luo G et al., 2010. Situation of water resources utilization in Kazakhstan. Arid Land Geography, 33(2): 196–202. (in Chinese)
Xue J, Guan H, Huo Z et al., 2017. Water saving practices enhance regional efficiency of water consumption and water productivity in an arid agricultural area with shallow groundwater. Agricultural Water Management, 194(6): 78–89.
Yang S, Yu X, Ding J et al., 2017. A review of water issues research in Central Asia. Acta Geographica Sinica, 72(1): 79–93. (in Chinese)
Yang Y, Li X, Dong W et al., 2019. Assessing China’s human-environment relationship. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 29(8): 1261–1282.
Yao H, Zhou H, 2014. A review of transboundary water resources in Central Asia. Resources Science, 36(6): 1175–1182. (in Chinese)
Zhai L, Ma J, Li G, 2018. Evolution and outlook of agricultural policies in Central Asian countries. Agricultural Outlook, 153(6): 31–35. (in Chinese)
Zhang J, Chen Y, Li Z, 2018. Assessment of efficiency and potentiality of agricultural resources in Central Asia. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 28(9): 1329–1340.
Zhu Q, 2012. Looking at agricultural development in Uzbekistan. China Agricultural Information, 19: 32–33. (in Chinese)
Zhu Z M, Li X Q, Huang Y C, 2020. Provision-virtualized water trading net work along “The Belt and Road”. Resources & Industries, 22(3): 1–12. (in Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation: Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Pan-Third Pole Environment Study for a Green Silk Road, No. XDA20040400
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yan, Z., Tan, M. Changes in agricultural virtual water in Central Asia, 1992–2016. J. Geogr. Sci. 30, 1909–1920 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-020-1818-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-020-1818-4