Decoupling analysis of urban water resource utilization and economic development

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Decoupling analysis of urban water resource utilization and economic development

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The study constructs a decoupling evaluation model, taking Nanjing City as an example. It contributes to a deeper understanding of the sustainable utilization of water resources and the coordination between regional economic development and ecological preservation. In addition, Nanjing’s water resource endowment, social background, economic foundation, and ecological environment have unique characteristics and significance. The results show that (1) the water resource ecological footprint tended to gradually decrease and level off. Water consumption in industry and agriculture was relatively high, and there were imbalances in the consumption and distribution of water resources across different social and economic sectors. (2) The carrying capacity of  per capita  water resources in Nanjing presented a gradual upward and downward trend, roughly resembling an “ M ” shape. (3) The average ecological deficit of  per capita  water resources over the recent 10 years was −0.53 hm2/person. The average ecological pressure index was 4.54. Therefore, this suggests significant pressure on water resource utilization and ecological environment protection. (4) The decoupling rate between water resource utilization and economic development has reached approximately 100%, indicating that economic development can help a city reduce its dependence on water resources. However, the relationship between the development of industry and agriculture and water resource utilization was not well coordinated.

 

1 Introduction

Water is regarded as the foundation of life and the basis of civilization (Kummu et al., 2016; Su et al., 2024; Vorosmarty et al., 2000). With the acceleration of global urbanization, water scarcity has become a critical bottleneck constraining sustainable urban development. According to the  United Nations World Water Development Report , approximately 40% of the global population faces water scarcity (UNESCO, 2021), with urban areas being particularly affected. Currently, global water resource utilization exhibits two key characteristics: on one hand, continued growth in water consumption demonstrates a strong coupling relationship with economic development resources (Antonelli and Sartori, 2015; Peng et al., 2024); on the other hand, significant disparities in water-use efficiency exist across cities, with some developed cities having preliminarily achieved “decoupling” between economic growth and water consumption (Ansorge and Stejskalová, 2022). Compared to rural areas, cities rely more on water resources. It is crucial for a city to realize sustainable economic development with accurate calculation of the current status of water resources and achievement of the decoupling between scientific utilization of water resources and economic development (Liu et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2019). Current prominent issues in urban water resource utilization include the following: first, the excessive coupling between water use and economic development persists: most cities remain locked in the conventional paradigm where economic growth inevitably drives increased water consumption. Second, significant regional disparities exist: cities across different climatic zones and developmental stages face distinct decoupling challenges, yet tailored solutions remain inadequate. This study aims to systematically analyze the decoupling relationship between urban water resource utilization and economic development, elucidate its underlying mechanisms and spatiotemporal patterns, and provide scientific evidence for formulating differentiated water management strategies to promote urban green and low-carbon development.

Recently, scholars all over the world have studied the relationship between water resources and socio-economic development (Gao et al., 2024; Omer et al., 2020; Stoeglehner et al., 2011; Wang et al., 2019), mainly focusing on water footprint theory and decoupling elasticity theory. The water footprint theory was first proposed by Canadian ecological economist William (1992) and enriched by his student Wackenagel and William (1996) (William, 1996). It aimed to quantify the utilization of natural resources and the environmental pressure by calculating the dry land and water area of a region.

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