Sustainable Water Management Solutions for Large Cities (Proceedings of symposium S2 held during the Seventh IAHS Scientific Assembly at Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, April 2005). IAHS Publ. 293, 2005, 125-131

Abstract Water resources for agriculture and food security is a very important global issue due to water scarcity. The concept of virtual water is the key to analysing and solving this problem. The virtual water concept is described, and the progress of an international study using it is briefly reviewed. China’s agricultural water scarcity and food security are analysed. Based on the grain import prediction and agricultural production conditions of China, the virtual water equivalents in 2010 and 2020 were evaluated; the results are 88 × 10⁹ m³ year^-1 in 2010, and 95 × 10⁹ m³ year^-1 in 2020. Given the relationship of virtual water to agricultural water stress, the virtual water strategy is predicted to relieve agricultural production pressure due to scarce water resources, and so to meet growing food demand and promote water resource sustainability in China.

Key words agriculture; China; food; security; virtual water; water resource