China's water risk assessment and industrial source analysis based on the localization of WWF water risk assessment tools

摘要

The WWF water risk assessment tool is a universal methodology, as the establishment of its indicators fully consider various types of natural and social environments. When this tool is applied to China, a large country with a complex water situation in a period of rapid development, appropriate localization adjustment is necessary to ensure that indicators are generally stable and assessment results are internationally comparable. Based on the localization of WWF water risk assessment tools, this is the first application assessing water risk in China in terms of physical risks, regulatory risks and reputation risks. It explores the sources of China's water risk from industrial sectors and constructs a classification index system according to the degree of water dependence and the level of water pollution. Using the classification index system and relevant data, we find the key industrial sectors, enterprises and production processes to reduce water risk in China's ten major water valleys and offer some effective and practical management suggestions. Due to the large regional differences of water risk-bearing capacity in China, the assessment results should be interpreted in combination with specific national conditions of China and emphasis should be laid on key areas and industries.