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Title: Agricultural market integration preserves future global water resources

Journal Article · · One Earth
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [1]
  1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), College Park, MD (United States). Joint Global Change Research Institute
  2. Tufts University, Medford, MA (United States)

Traded agricultural goods redistribute water, virtually, around the world to satisfy unmet demands while limiting excess water extraction in importing regions. However, gaps remain in our understanding of how alternative international trade regimes may alter agricultural water demands, locally and virtually. Here, we explore global agricultural water savings and virtual water trade impacts of such trade regimes under reference and low-carbon scenarios using an integrated and water-constrained human-Earth system model. We find that varying agricultural market integration significantly alters regional water withdrawals, while also substantially impacting global nonrenewable groundwater withdrawals. These results highlight the susceptibility of water resources, across regions, to varying degrees of market integration. Understanding how trade integration may evolve in the future can assist in the integrated management of water resources to allow for enhanced food security and potential amelioration of water stress.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
2000759
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2222701
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-171216
Journal Information:
One Earth, Vol. 6, Issue 9; ISSN 2590-3322
Publisher:
Cell PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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