Assessment of Virtual Water Flows in Iran Using a Multi-Regional Input-Output Analysis
, Farhad Tarahomi 2, Markus Pahlow 3, Seyed Saeed Malek Sadati 4 and Ali Abbasi 1,5,*Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Interesting and fascinating topic. Attached some minor comments.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
We would like to thank the reviewer for his/her very helpful comments. The changes have been made based on the reviewer’s comments. Please find the attached revised version of the manuscript. More details on how we responded to the comments can be found in the attached files.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
General comment
This work assesses the virtual water trade in Iran based on a multi-regional input-output model to assist water management policies in relation to water contribution in the country’s economy. The paper is well written, in a logical order and with all necessary details.
Please address the following minor typos:
- Line 24. Use superscript in Mm3.
- Line 230. Use comma in 1830 and 1978
- Line 384. Please explain what is SCI.
Author Response
We would like to thank the reviewer for his/her very helpful comments. The changes have been made based on the reviewer’s comments. Please find the attached revised version of the manuscript. More details on how we responded to the comments can be found in the attached files.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
This study investigates the virtual water flows in Iran using a multi-regional input-output model. Using the regional data, the authors found that the severely water-scarce regions are net virtual water exporters, and that 89.1% of total export is related to the agriculture sector. This research is very interesting and well-written. Some improvements as suggested below will make it a strong paper.
Major Concerns:
- Paragraph too long. Split each of the first two paragraphs to two paragraphs.
- Lines 99-102, you mentioned what you did in this research, but knowledge gaps, objectives, and contributions (compared to two other previous studies) are not clear. Why do you need to do this research? You can add a couple of sentences here to clarify this point.
- Lines 102-105, condense the information about appendix to one short sentence. Some details can be added here using the sub-section titles of the results and discussion sections, just a couple of sentences.
- A good literature review on virtual water and the methods is largely missing, though you have some minimum information in the introduction section.
- Line 172, correct the citation.
- Data section is not clear. Do you want to add 1-2 tables with some statistic summary and sources of the data. That way, the data section can be clear to readers. I assume your table 1 show the results from the analysis, rather than some data information which should be presented briefly in the data section.
- Because a literature review is missing, a comparison with relevant literature is also missing here. In addition, you need to link you results more closely to water sustainability issues which are focus of this journal. You also need to present insights for policy design or implementation (or in the conclusion section).
Author Response
We would like to thank the reviewer for his/her very helpful comments. The changes have been made based on the reviewer’s comments. Please find the attached revised version of the manuscript. More details on how we responded to the comments can be found in the attached files.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
Dear Authors,
Your work was a good read. I like the concept that water resources availability and policy go hand in hand.Few minor comments:
I agree with the limitations you mentioned at the end of the manuscript. I would recommend you to do a more reading, as I think there is some literature available that addresses some of the limitations. Give a read to this one and please do check the cross references as well.
Schull, V. Z., Daher, B., Gitau, M. W., Mehan, S., & Flanagan, D. C. (2020). Analyzing FEW nexus modeling tools for water resources decision-making and management applications. Food and Bioproducts Processing, 119, 108-124.
Also, Figure 2 & 3 were blurred enough to correlate figures with text.
Good Work!
Author Response
We would like to thank the reviewer for his/her very helpful comments. The changes have been made based on the reviewer’s comments. Please find the attached revised version of the manuscript. More details on how we responded to the comments can be found in the attached files.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
I am quite surprised by seeing the updated version and the authors' responses.
It clearly emerges the little experience the authors have in publishing in international journals, and on the quality standards required.
The tone used in the responses is paternalistic rather than thankful for the reviewers' time and suggestions. Moreover, they do not respond by letting us know how the suggestions have been incorporated and where, or on why they disagree with them and on why they decided not to incorporate them.
Here is my explanation:
I provided 4 main comments and requests for change. Here is the authors response:
A) "The authors thank the reviewer for his/her comments. In this part of introduction, we just gave an overview of the situation in Iran with a state of lacking precipitation and, simultaneously, an increasing population and economic development. This would provide the readers with a good understanding of “water scarcity” in the country, since that term consists of two parts: water shortage and excessive water withdrawal. Regions with only water shortages may not necessarily face water scarcity, as we have some hyper arid regions in the country with no or small water scarcity. We thank you again for your concise comment."
No it does not. As I suggested, the authors understanding of water scarcity is not comprehensive; it is not just about water shortage and excessive water withdrawal. For this reason, I suggested them to read with attention the work on "discourses of water scarcity" and about "construction of water scarcity" of Lyla Mehta, Gareth Edwards, and Hussam Hussein. This would help the authors to understand better this key concept, which is so central to their work. "we just gave an overview of the situation in Iran" emphasises the fact the authors decided not to have a broad and deep understanding of the concept, as they believe it does not apply to Iran. Instead, if they read the work I have suggested, they would realise it does. REVISE ACCORDINGLY.
B) "We agree with you that over-extraction and its concomitant environmental issues may be the same for other parts of the world. Thank you for your information." I dont really care if you agree with me or not. You should not tell me whether you agree or not, you should explain it in the text, bringing up examples to show it to the general public (please note I have also taken the time to find and provide you with relevant references, which you simply dismissed rather than used for your paper).
C) "The authors are grateful for your comment. The following sentences are added based on your comment as follows:" I have provided 3 references, you have used only one. Okay, but really not sure why not finding the work of Valerie Yorke also useful.
D) "The authors are aware of the differences between the “virtual water” and “water footprint” concepts. In this study, we specially focused on the water footprint concept as a bottom-up approach to evaluate the
internal and external water footprint of regions within the country, which is closely linked to the IO model."
In your updated title, VIRTUAL WATER is a central term used also in your title. So please define it in the text.
The authors should take seriously all reviewers' comments and incorporate them before resubmitting. Remember that your paper should contribute to the literature, and NOT simply describe but rather analyse the case of Iran. To do so, it must situate your research within the relevant literature and debates, not only about Iran, but also about virtual water, water scarcity, etc. I hope this helps you in revising and in your future academic career.
Author Response
Please find the attached file.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
This paper has been greatly improved and comments are addressed appropriately.
Author Response
Please find the attached file.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
