Studies on Potential Water Resources Crisis Based on STIRPAT Model:A Case from Zhejiang in China

Zhejiang province in China is confronting with pressing problems for how to rationally develop and sustainably use water resources. Due to the large population base, water resource per capita in Zhejiang is not plentiful, although it is a place abundant in water. As in the 2011, water resource per capita in Zhejiang province is 1,362 mMn view of this, Zhejiang province should be regarded as an area of moderate water shortage. The paper introduces the STIRPAT model to describe and further explore linkages between water consumption and population as well as other socio-economic factors to select out major ones affecting water resources consumption for 11 prefecture-level cities in Zhejiang province. Based on the empirical results, paper tries to propose suggestions for long-term water management in Zhejiang province.