A Water-Withdrawal Input–Output Model of the Indian Economy

Abstract

Managing freshwater allocation for a highly populated and growing economy like India can benefit from knowledge about the effect of economic activities. This study transforms the 2003-2004 economic input-output (IO) table of India into a water withdrawal input-output model to quantify direct and indirect flows. This unique model is based on a comprehensive database compiled from diverse public sources, and estimates direct and indirect water withdrawal of all economic sectors. It distinguishes between green (rainfall), blue (surface and ground), and scarce groundwater. Results indicate that the total direct water withdrawal is nearly 3052 billion cubic meter (BCM) and 96% of this is used in agriculture sectors with the contribution of direct green water being about 1145 BCM, excluding forestry. Apart from 727 BCM direct blue water withdrawal for agricultural, other significant users include "Electricity" with 64 BCM, "Water supply" with 44 BCM and other industrial sectors with nearly 14 BCM. "Construction", "miscellaneous food products"; "Hotels and restaurants"; "Paper, paper products, and newsprint" are other significant indirect withdrawers. The net virtual water import is found to be insignificant compared to direct water used in agriculture nationally, while scarce ground water associated with crops is largely contributed by northern states.

An urban systems framework to assess the trans-boundary food-energy-water nexus: implementation in Delhi, India

“…India-specific consumptive water loss intensity factors and GHG emission factors for agriculture were sourced from Mekonnen and Hoekstra (2011) and Pathak et al (2010), respectively. A new data set developed by this team was used for assessing national-average crop water withdrawal and water intensity (blue and green) for food processing industries in India (Bogra et al 2016).…”

Direct and indirect vulnerability of economic sectors to water scarcity: A hotspot analysis of the Indian economy

“…Many economic–ecological assessments (Berrittella, Hoekstra, Rehdanz, Rosond, & Tol, 2007; Bogra et al., 2016; Lutter, Pfister, Giljum, Wieland, & Mutel, 2016; Ridoutt & Pfister, 2010; Velazquez, 2006; Mo, Zhang, Mihelcic, & Hokanson, 2011) indicate that water and other ecosystems goods and services ( EGS ) such as land, soil fertility, biodiversity, (Lenzen et al., 2012a; Tukker et al., 2016; Wood & Lenzen, 2003) make important contributions to socio‐economic systems. This implies that rising resource scarcities are capable of making socio‐economic‐ecological ( SEE ) systems vulnerable (Figure 1).…”

“…Rising regional water deficits (Dalin, Wada, Kastner, & Puma, 2017; WBCSD, 2016; Pfister, Koehler, & Hellweg, 2009; Rodell, Isabella Velicogna, & Famiglietti, 2009; Taylor et al., 2013) make India a water‐stressed country with growing population (UNDP, 2016) and affluence. Mapping flows of water in India's economic network for the year 2003–2004 has shown that both green (rainfall) and blue (ground and surface) (ISO14046, 2015; Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2011) water make significant contributions to various sectors of the Indian economy (Bogra et al., 2016). Furthermore, the same study indicates that agriculture caused nearly 86% of withdrawals (excluding green water) throughout India, whereas Electricity required about 8% and domestic water supply 5% of blue water supply.…”

“…Acknowledging the need to assess the rising risks to the Indian economy due to the reducing availability of water supplies across India, the purpose of this study is to offer a comprehensive assessment of water dependence and water vulnerability of the Indian economy. To do so, this study utilizes the water‐withdrawal input–output model of the Indian economy (Bogra et al., 2016), wherein the water model is considered as an SEE system under study and water is considered as an ecosystem service and scarce flows are considered as stressors. The used water‐withdrawal model, being an application of environmentally extended input–output ( EEIO ) models, not only offers a complete inventory of direct water withdrawn (in terms of green and blue water) by various sectors of the Indian economy but also estimates indirect withdrawal by not so visible sectors.…”

Economic Impacts of Irrigation-Constrained Agriculture in the Lower Po Basin

“…Linear IO models applied to water typically combine input-output matrices and water accounts and apply a structural decomposition analysis that disaggregates the effects of a given shock on economic outputs and water use at different levels, from urban ) to multi-regional (Wan et al 2016). Because of their descriptive nature, researchers have frequently resorted to IO models to determine which sectors consume more water (directly and indirectly) (Bogra et al 2016), estimate their productivity (apparent and induced) (Duarte et al 2002), assess their exposure and vulnerability to shortages (Zhao et al 2015), and support the design of water and agricultural policy (González 2011;Llop 2008). Despite much progress, linear IO models still tackle two major issues insufficiently: (i) disruptions, such as droughts, are most often a disruption in the supply-side of the production chain; and (ii) modeling the substitution capabilities of other regions and/or other industries.…”