| The provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region are in the arid region of northwest China and are facing a shortage of water resources as well as severe pollution. In this study, the five provinces and regions were selected for research, and we evaluated utilization of water resources from 2000 to 2019 using the water footprint concept, aiming to provide a conceptual basis for the sustainable utilization of water resources. The water footprint of the five provinces and regions were analyzed from the aspects of population density, economic benefit, and the water resource pressure index. The per capita water footprint and per capita virtual water footprint of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and Xinjiang during the research period presented a fluctuating upward trend, while Qinghai Province presented a downward trend. In 2019, the virtual water footprints of the five provinces and regions were the primary contributors to the water footprints, accounting for 89.48%, 86.00%, 81.75%, 80.88%, and 75.68% for Gansu, Qinghai, Shannxi, Ningxia, and Xinjiang respectively. Among them, the virtual water in agricultural products accounted for the highest proportion of the virtual water footprint in Gansu (71.47%), followed by Shaanxi (65.40%), Xinjiang (54.30%), Qinghai (49.93%), and Ningxia (49.92%). The population density of the water footprint showed a fluctuating downward trend in Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Xinjiang, but a slight increase in Qinghai. The economic benefits of the water footprint increased each year, with the highest value in 2019 in Shaanxi (125.88 yuan/m3), followed by Ningxia (70.26 yuan/m3), Qinghai (56.11 yuan/m3), Gansu (39.03 yuan/m3), and Xinjiang (43.40 yuan/m3). From 2000 to 2019, the water resource pressure index of the region was less than 1, except for Ningxia in 2019, and the water resource pressure index in Xinjiang, Gansu, and Ningxia showed a fluctuating increase, with growth rates of 93.58%, 71.33%, and 27.12%, respectively, while Shaanxi and Qinghai fluctuated downwards, decreasing by 5.46% and 3.14%, respectively. To summarize, the overall pressure on water resources in the five northwest provinces (regions) is not high, and the economic benefits of the water footprint increased during the study period. However, the imbalance in per capita water resource availability and the persistently high per capita water footprint indicate that the sustainable utilization capacity of water resources in the five northwest provinces and regions is weak. |
