The Impact of China’s Targeted Poverty Alleviation Policy on Water Resource Utilization Pressure and Allocation in Arid Regions: A Case Study of Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang

Targeted poverty alleviation is a major national initiative in China. The Hotan region, located within the four prefectures of Southern Xinjiang, is one of the 14 contiguous poverty-stricken areas in China as well as a quintessential inland arid zone. Water scarcity is the primary constraint on development in the Hotan region and a major bottleneck for Northwest China as a whole. However, previous assessments of the effectiveness of poverty alleviation measures have primarily focused on industrial growth itself, lacking an analysis of the adaptability between key regional resource elements and industrial poverty alleviation measures. The core of promoting targeted poverty alleviation in arid regions is properly managing the relationships within the “industry–water resources” system and achieving a balance between resource use, environmental capacity, and economic development. Focusing on the coordinated development of industry and water resources, this study evaluates the spatio-temporal evolution of the industry–water resource relationships in the Hotan region after the implementation of the targeted poverty alleviation policy with the aim of measuring the sustainability of industrial poverty alleviation outcomes in this arid region. The results indicate the following: (1) The targeted poverty alleviation policy has reduced industrial water consumption. Following the policy’s implementation, industrial water consumption decreased by 541 million m3, driven by improvements in water use intensity and shifts in the industrial structure. The primary contributor to this reduction was enhanced water use efficiency within the primary sector. (2) The policy exacerbated the misallocation of water resources relative to industrial output across the region. The Gini coefficient for water resources versus GDP across Hotan’s eight counties and cities rose from 0.26 to 0.32, indicating a shift from a ‘relatively balanced’ to a ‘moderately imbalanced’ allocation. Therefore, achieving sustainable poverty alleviation in this arid region necessitates enhanced coordination between industrial development and water resources.