Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Water Ecological Footprint and Countermeasures for Water Sustainability in Japan

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 20;19(16):10380. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191610380.

Abstract

Water-related problems are mostly caused by water imbalances between supply and demand. This study adopts the ecological footprint method to conduct an empirical study on the sustainable utilization of water resources in Japan. According to the basic principles and calculation methods of water ecological footprint (WEF), the characteristics of Japan's water ecological footprint were investigated from the time and space dimensions, and a comparative analysis was made with the water ecological footprint of China. The results show that: from 1980 to 2020, the total water ecological footprint in Japan showed a downward trend in both the traditional account and pollutant account, and its spatial pattern was characterized by the relation that the higher the urbanization rate, the larger the water ecological footprint. In terms of water ecological footprint efficiency, Japan's agricultural water ecological footprint efficiency was the lowest, and the domestic water ecological footprint efficiency was the highest. The water resources policies and measures that Japan and other developing countries should take to ensure the sustainability of water resources were analyzed separately.

Keywords: carrying capacity; ecological footprint; ecological footprint accounts; water resources; water sustainability.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • China
  • Conservation of Natural Resources* / methods
  • Japan
  • Urbanization
  • Water Resources
  • Water*

Substances

  • Water

Grants and funding

This research was partly supported and funded by the Young scientific and technological talents growth project of Guizhou Provincial Department of Education (QJHKYZi [2022] No.181), Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Projects (QKHZK [2022] No.205), the construction project of Key Laboratory of State Ethnic Affairs Commission ([2020] No.91 of DDA office, i.e. The karst environmental geological hazard prevention laboratory of Guizhou Minzu University).