Assessing the Agricultural Water Savings–Economy–Ecological Environment System in an Arid Area of Northwest China Using a Water Rights Transaction Model

Abstract

As water trading has become increasingly used to optimize the allocation of water resources, it has become necessary to transfer agricultural water allocations for economic development and ecological environmental uses by way of water rights trading. In this paper, we constructed an example water rights trading model in the arid oasis area of Shihezi Irrigation District (located in Northwest China), using the field investigation method and governmental water management decisions based on the systems theory of the agricultural water savings–economy–ecological environment. Furthermore, focusing on the added industrial value produced by trading water, the value of the ecological services provided by fresh water, the negative value of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and the negative ecological value of reduced fertilizer application, a quantitative analysis was carried out using the Shihezi Irrigation District as an example. The results showed that under the most stringent water resource management plan and with the objective of returning land and reducing water, the irrigation area can save 52,504,500 m3 of surplus water from the agricultural sector, of which 49,879,300 m3 can be reallocated to the industrial sector and 2,625,200 m3 can be reallocated to the ecological sector. Using the water rights transaction method, this regional agricultural water saving could generate an industrial benefit equal to 35,024,300 yuan, an ecosystem service equal to 19,482,200 yuan, and an overall benefit equal to 54,420,500 yuan. The water rights trading model proposed in this paper for an arid oasis areas can provide a reference for other arid areas, helping to achieve the sustainable economic development of the economic and ecological environments in arid oasis areas through water rights trading.

Research on Bi-Level Objective Programming Model of Water Resources Uncertainty Based on Water Rights Trading—A Case Study of the Yehe Irrigation District in Hebei Province, China

“…Water rights trading is one of the important means of water resource management, and many studies have confirmed that implementing a tradable water rights system can improve the efficiency of water resource allocation [22][23][24][25]. With the gradual improvement of the theoretical system of water rights and the vigorous development of the water market, scholars have studied the water rights trading model in order to further improve the utilization rate of regional water resources and optimize its redistribution [26][27][28]. However, most of the studies are mostly on the same level to optimize the objectives for decision-making, without considering the relationship between different levels in an integrated manner, such as the influence of interactive decision-making between regional management and water-use units, and there are few studies on the water rights trading model under the multi-layer perspective.…”

Quantitative study on eco-economic compensation for water rights trading along the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China

“…Dionisio et al (2020) indicated that cross-basin water rights trading may damage the environmental flow and affect water use in the downstream basin, where the water is sold; this may not be conducive to sustainable economic growth. He et al (2021) constructed a water rights trading model based on the systems theory of the agricultural water savings-economy-ecological environment, and analyzed the industrial impact produced by water trading. Although these qualitative studies have determined various ecological problems, they ignored the economic and social aspects, and did not portray a systematic understanding of the compensation system.…”

The water dispatching of river basins during dry periods under the most stringent water management system in China

“…Since the establishment of the most stringent water management system in 2011, China has achieved the sustainable utilization of water resources, and increasing numbers of studies have evaluated the effects of this system on water resources management (Shang et al, 2017;He et al, 2021). For example, Guo & Wang (2021) established a prediction model to evaluate the carrying capacity of water resources in China in 2030 under this water resources management system.…”