Water footprint of Xiamen city from production and consumption perspectives (2001–2012) Available to Purchase

Providing a comprehensive insight, water footprint (WF) is widely used to analyze and address water-use issues. In this study, a hybrid of bottom-up and top-down methods is applied to calculate, from production and consumption perspectives, the WF for Xiamen city from 2001 to 2012. Results show that the average production WF of Xiamen was 881.75 Mm³/year and remained relatively stable during the study period, while the consumption WF of Xiamen increased from 979.56 Mm³/year to 1,664.97 Mm³/year over the study period. Xiamen thus became a net importer of virtual water since 2001. Livestock was the largest contributor to the total WF from both production and consumption perspectives; it was followed by crops, industry, household use, and commerce. The efficiency of the production WF has increased in Xiamen, and its per capita consumption WF was relatively low. The city faces continuing growth in its consumption WF, so more attention should be paid to improving local irrigation, reducing food waste, and importing water-intensive agricultural products.