Change in Industrial Water Use in Anhui Province Based on LMDI
安徽省工业行业用水消耗变化分析——基于LMDI分解法

Water resources are an important strategic resource for social economic development. How to reduce industrial water use has become an urgent issue in China. Alongside rapid economic growth in Anhui province, problems associated with rapid growth in industrial water use have become more prominent. Industrial water use increased 22.63 billion cubic meters in Anhui from 2002 to 2010, and the growth rate reached 112.4%. Here, the method of LMDI was used to analyze changes in industrial water use from 2002 to 2010. Using the LMDI index, change in industrial water use was broken down to the industrial economic total effect, industrial economic structural effect, and industrial water quota effect. We found that the industrial economic scale is a major driver of growth in industrial water use, and an industrial water quota effectively promotes a reduction in industrial water use. Economic expansion across 27 industries is causing an increase in industrial water use. Combining empirical results, several suggestions on reducing industrial water use in Anhui are provided. These include strengthening the control of industrial water use, promoting water-saving innovation, optimization and adjustment of industrial economic structure, and strengthening the management of industrial water quotas in the production and supply of electric power, heat power, smelting and pressing of ferrous metals, manufacture of raw chemical materials and chemical products, and paper and paper products. This research has important significance to industrial water-saving policy and the industrial sustainable development of Anhui.