Domestic Water Consumption and Its Influencing Factors in the Yellow River Basin Based on Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index and Decoupling Theory

Abstract

In recent decades, water resources shortage has become a global problem, and it is critical to analyse the trend of domestic water consumption and its influencing factors to optimise water resource management, promote the construction of a water-saving society, and realise the sustainable development of resources and the environment. We chose the Yellow River Basin as the study area and analysed the temporal and spatial characteristics of domestic water using water-use data, identified its influencing factors by Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index, and analysed its relationship with economic development based on the decoupling theory. In this study, we found that: (1) Domestic water consumption increased in the Yellow River Basin between 2006 and 2020, with provinces primarily located south of the river. (2) Technical and economic effects were the major factors leading to changes in domestic water use. The technical effect is the major factor inhibiting the increase, whereas the economic effect encourages the increase in domestic water consumption. (3) In the Yellow River Basin, weak decoupling was achieved between domestic water consumption and economic growth, with domestic water consumption at a slower rate than the economic growth rate.