TY - JOUR
T1 - Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Water Footprints of Food Consumption in South Korea
T2 - A Decomposition Analysis
AU - Adeyi, Qudus
AU - Adelodun, Bashir
AU - Odey, Golden
AU - Choi, Kyung Sook
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.
PY - 2025/9
Y1 - 2025/9
N2 - South Korea faces severe water stress, as classified by the OECD, with changing dietary patterns significantly impacting water resources. To ensure water conservation and food security, it is crucial to understand the driving factors of the water footprint of food consumption (WFC). This study examined the WFC in South Korea from 2007 to 2023, focusing on how dietary choices impact water use and sustainability, and identified the key driving factors of changes in WFC. Using the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI), this study decomposed these drivers into water footprint intensity, dietary structure, average dietary intake per person, and population effect. Additionally, global and local spatial autocorrelation analyses were used to measure the degree of spatial aggregation and distribution of WFC across administrative units. Results revealed a significant increase in WFC, from 27.6 km3 in 2007 to 34.7 km3 in 2023, with an average annual growth of 2%. Among the drivers, water footprint intensity contributed most to the increase in WFC, while average dietary intake per person led to a decrease. Cereals, meats and fish collectively account for more than 76% of the total WFC during the study period. The findings suggest that the drivers influencing the changes in WFC vary across administrative units, underscoring the need for tailored policies and strategies to promote sustainable food consumption practices that could conserve water resources in each administrative unit.
AB - South Korea faces severe water stress, as classified by the OECD, with changing dietary patterns significantly impacting water resources. To ensure water conservation and food security, it is crucial to understand the driving factors of the water footprint of food consumption (WFC). This study examined the WFC in South Korea from 2007 to 2023, focusing on how dietary choices impact water use and sustainability, and identified the key driving factors of changes in WFC. Using the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI), this study decomposed these drivers into water footprint intensity, dietary structure, average dietary intake per person, and population effect. Additionally, global and local spatial autocorrelation analyses were used to measure the degree of spatial aggregation and distribution of WFC across administrative units. Results revealed a significant increase in WFC, from 27.6 km3 in 2007 to 34.7 km3 in 2023, with an average annual growth of 2%. Among the drivers, water footprint intensity contributed most to the increase in WFC, while average dietary intake per person led to a decrease. Cereals, meats and fish collectively account for more than 76% of the total WFC during the study period. The findings suggest that the drivers influencing the changes in WFC vary across administrative units, underscoring the need for tailored policies and strategies to promote sustainable food consumption practices that could conserve water resources in each administrative unit.
KW - Driving factors
KW - Food consumption
KW - LMDI decomposition analysis
KW - Resource use sustainability
KW - Spatial autocorrelation
KW - Water footprint
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105001514642
U2 - 10.1007/s00267-025-02151-z
DO - 10.1007/s00267-025-02151-z
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105001514642
SN - 0364-152X
VL - 75
SP - 2348
EP - 2364
JO - Environmental Management
JF - Environmental Management
IS - 9
ER -
