Work

Does Understanding Water Footprint and Virtual Water Concepts Promote Water Conservation?

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Amid escalating global water scarcity and growing emphasis on demand-side interventions for sustainable resource use, understanding how consumers’ virtual water cognition can drive food–water resource conservation is critical for strengthening sustainable resource governance. Through a questionnaire survey, this study constructed a Food–Water Behavior Synergy Model to explore the relationship among consumers’ virtual water cognition and food-conservation behavior, water-conservation behavior, and food–water synergistic cognition in China. Results show that virtual water cognition significantly increased food-conservation behavior (β = 0.158, p < 0.001) and WCB (β = 0.064, p < 0.001). Food–water synergistic cognition also positively affected food-conservation behavior (β = 0.099, p < 0.001) and water-conservation behavior (β = 0.035, p < 0.01), consistent with the knowledge–action framework. The magnitudes of these effects differed across subgroups (gender, education level, major, region, and urban–rural residence). Virtual water cognition did not significantly enhance food–water synergistic cognition (β = 0.006, p = 0.758), providing empirical evidence of a knowledge–action gap. There was a strong direct effect of food-conservation behavior on water-conservation behavior (β = 0.498, p < 0.001), and there was evidence that food-conservation behavior mediated the indirect paths from both virtual water cognition and food–water synergistic cognition to water-conservation behavior. Implementing consumer-oriented contextual interventions—such as differentiated educational guidance and water-footprint labeling—would be conducive to translating theoretical knowledge into practical action.

Source: Water

DOI: 10.3390/w17243480

Authors: Shengqian Zhang, Mengyang Wu, Raffaele Albano, Xinchun Cao

Institutions: Hohai University, University of Basilicata

Language: English

Topic: Environmental Education and Sustainability

Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Clean water and sanitation, Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137