Some facts about water

• Water covers more than 70% of the world's population, but only 3% of fresh water.
• Most natural fresh water is in ice form; less than 1% is readily available for human consumption. This means that less than 0.007% of the water on earth is ready to drink.
• More than 1.4 billion people do not have access to clean, safe water worldwide.
• The gap between water supply and demand is constantly growing, expected to reach 40% by 2030.
• By 2025, one third of the world's population will depend on water scarcity.
• By 2050, more than 70% of the world's population will live in cities.
• In many developing countries, the percentage of water loss is more than 30%, reaching even 80% in some extreme cases.
• Over 32 billion cubic meters drinking water- water leaks from urban water systems around the world, only 10% of the leak is visible, the rest of the leaks quietly and silently disappear underground.

The development of mankind is accompanied by an increase in the population of the Earth, as well as growing demands for resources from the economy. One of these resources is fresh water, the shortage of which is quite acutely felt in a number of regions of the Earth. In particular, more than a third of the world's population, that is, more than 2 billion people, does not have permanent access to a drinking resource. It is expected that in 2020 water shortage will act as one of the obstacles further development humanity. This applies to the greatest extent to developing countries, where:

• Intensive population growth
• High level of industrialization accompanied by pollution environment and water in particular
• Lack of water treatment infrastructure,
• Significant demand for water from the agricultural sector,
• Medium or low level social stability, authoritarian structure of society.

World water resources

The earth is rich in water, because 70% of the Earth's surface is covered with water (approx. 1.4 billion km 3). However, most of the water is salty and only about 2.5% of the world's water reserves(approx. 35 million km 3) is fresh water (see Figure World Water Sources, UNESCO, 2003).

Only fresh water can be used for drinking, but 69% of it falls on snow covers (mainly Antarctica and Greenland), approx. 30% (10.5 million km 3) - ground water, and lakes, artificial lakes and rivers account for less than 0.5% of all fresh water.

In the water cycle total 79% of precipitation falling on the Earth falls on the ocean, 2% - on lakes, and only 19% - on the land surface. Only 2200 km 3 penetrates into underground reservoirs per year.

Many experts call water issue» one of the most serious challenges for humanity in the future. Period 2005-2015 declared by the UN General Assembly international decade action" Water for life».

Picture. World sources of fresh water: sources of distribution of about 35 million km 3 of fresh water (UNESCO 2003)

According to UN experts, in the 21st century, water will become a more important strategic resource than oil and gas, since a ton of clean water in an arid climate is already more expensive than oil (the Sahara desert and North Africa, the center of Australia, South Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia).

Globally, about 2/3 of all precipitation returns to the atmosphere. In terms of water resources, Latin America is the richest region, accounting for a third of the world's runoff, followed by Asia with a quarter of the world's runoff. Then come the OECD countries (20%), sub-Saharan Africa and the countries of the former Soviet Union, each accounting for 10%. The most limited water resources are in the countries of the Middle East and North America (1% each).

The countries of sub-Saharan Africa (Tropical/Black Africa) experience the greatest shortage of drinking water.

After several decades of rapid industrialization, large Chinese cities have become among the most environmentally unfavorable.

The construction of the world's largest hydropower complex, the Three Gorges, on the Yangtze River in China, has also created massive environmental problems. In addition to erosion and collapse of the banks, the construction of a dam and a giant reservoir led to silting and, according to Chinese and foreign experts, a dangerous change in the entire ecosystem of the country's largest river.

SOUTH ASIA

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

India is home to 16% of the world's population, despite the fact that only 4% of the planet's fresh water is available there.

The water reserves of India and Pakistan are in inaccessible places - these are the glaciers of the Pamirs and the Himalayas, which cover the mountains at an altitude above 4000 m. But the water shortage in Pakistan is already so high that the government is seriously considering the issue of forcibly melting these glaciers.

The idea is to spray harmless coal dust over them, which will cause the ice to actively melt in the sun. But, most likely, the melted glacier will look like a muddy mudflow, 60% of the water will not reach the valleys, but will be absorbed into the soil near the foot of the mountains, ecological prospects are unclear

CENTRAL (MIDDLE) ASIA

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

central Asia(as defined by UNESCO): Mongolia, Western China, Punjab, Northern India, Northern Pakistan, northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, districts Asian Russia south of the taiga zone, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

According to the World Resources Institute, fresh water reserves in countries Central Asia(without Tajikistan) and in Kazakhstan per capita is almost 5 times lower than in Russia.

Russia

Over the past ten years in Russia, as in all middle latitudes, temperatures have been rising faster than the average on Earth and in the tropics. By 2050 temperatures will rise by 2-3ºС. One of the consequences of warming will be a redistribution of precipitation. In the south of the Russian Federation there will not be enough rainfall and there will be problems with drinking water, on some rivers there may be problems with navigation, the area will decrease permafrost, soil temperatures will rise, in the northern regions the yield will increase, although there may be losses due to drought events (Roshydromet).

AMERICA

Mexico

Mexico City is experiencing problems with the supply of drinking water to the population. Demand for bottled water already today exceeds supply, so the country's leadership urges residents to learn how to save water.

The issue of drinking water consumption has been facing the leaders of the capital of Mexico for a long time, since the city, in which almost a quarter of the country lives, is located far from water sources, so today water is extracted from wells at least 150 meters deep. The results of water quality analysis revealed an increased content of permissible concentrations heavy metals and other chemical elements and substances harmful to human health.

Half of the daily water consumed in the US comes from non-renewable underground sources. At the moment, 36 states are on the verge of a serious problem, some of them on the verge of a water crisis. Water shortages in California, Arizona, Nevada, Las Vegas.

Water has become a key security strategy and priority for the US administration foreign policy. Currently, the Pentagon and other structures that care about US security have come to the conclusion that in order to maintain the existing military and economic strength of the United States, they must protect not only energy sources, but also water resources.

Peru

In the Peruvian capital of Lima, there is practically no rain, and water is supplied mainly from the Andes lakes, located quite far away. From time to time the water is turned off for several days. There is always a shortage of water. Once a week, water is brought by truck, but it costs the poor ten times more than residents whose houses are connected to the central water supply system.

Drinking water consumption

About 1 billion people on Earth do not have access to improved sources of drinking water. Over half of the world's households have running water in their homes or nearby.

8 out of 10 people who do not have access to improved drinking water sources live in rural areas.

884 million people in the world, i.e. almost half of those living in Asia still use unimproved sources of drinking water. Most of them live in sub-Saharan Africa, South, East and Southeast Asia.

Countries where bottled water is the main source of drinking water: Dominican Republic(67% of the urban population drink exclusively bottled water), Lao People's Democratic Republic and Thailand (for half of the urban population, bottled water is the main source of drinking water). Also a serious situation in Guatemala, Guinea, Turkey, Yemen.

Drinking water treatment practices vary considerably across countries. In Mongolia, Vietnam, water is almost always boiled, a little less often - in the PDR Lao and Cambodia, even less often - in Uganda and Jamaica. In Guinea, it is filtered through a cloth. And in Jamaica, Guinea, Honduras, Haiti, chlorine or other disinfectants are simply added to the water to clean it.

Households in Africa in rural areas spend an average of 26% of their time just getting water (mostly women) (UK DFID). Every year it takes approx. 40 billion working hours (Cosgrove and Rijsberman, 1998). The Tibetan highlands are still inhabited by people who have to spend up to three hours a day walking to fetch water.

Main drivers of water consumption growth

1. : sanitation improvement

Access to basic water services (drinking water, food production, sanitation, sanitation) remains limited in most developing countries. It is possible that By 2030, more than 5 billion people (67% of the global population) will still lack modern sanitation(OECD, 2008).

About 340 million Africans do not have safe drinking water, and nearly 500 million lack modern sanitation.

The importance of ensuring the purity of the water consumed: several billion people today do not have access to clean water(The World Conference of The Future of Science, 2008, Venice).

80% of diseases in developing countries are related to water, annually causing about 1.7 million deaths.

According to some estimates, every year in developing countries about 3 million people die prematurely from waterborne diseases.

Diarrhea - main reason sickness and death occurs for the most part due to lack of sanitary and hygienic conditions and unsafe drinking water. 5,000 children die of diarrhea every day, i.e. one child every 17 seconds.

In South Africa, 12% of the health care budget goes to treat diarrhea, with more than half of the patients diagnosed with diarrhea in local hospitals every day.

Annually 1.4 million diarrhea deaths could be prevented. Almost 1/10 of the total number of diseases could be prevented by improving water supply, sanitation, hygiene, management water resources.

2. Development of agriculture for food production

Water is an essential component of food, and Agriculture- the largest consumer of water: it falls up to 70% of total water consumption(for comparison: 20% of water use is industry, 10% is domestic use). Irrigated area for recent decades doubled, and water withdrawal increased 3 times.

Without further improvement in water use in agriculture, the need for water in this sector will increase by 70-90% by 2050, and this despite the fact that some countries have already reached the limit in the use of their water resources.

On average, 70% of the fresh water consumed is used by agriculture, 22% by industry, and the remaining 8% is used for household needs. This ratio varies by country income: in low- and middle-income countries, 82% is used for agriculture, 10% for industry, and 8% for domestic use; in high-income countries these figures are 30%, 59% and 11%.

Due to inefficient irrigation systems, especially in developing countries, 60% of the water used for agriculture evaporates or is returned to water bodies.

3. Change in food consumption

In recent years, there have been changes in the lifestyle of people and the way they eat, the consumption of meat and dairy products has increased disproportionately in countries with economies in transition Today, one person in the world consumes on average 2 times more water than in 1900, and this trend will continue in connection with changing consumption habits in emerging economies.

In today's world, 1.4 billion people are deprived of access to clean water, another 864 million do not have the opportunity to receive the nutrition they need on a daily basis. And the situation continues to worsen.

A person needs only 2-4 liters of water per day to drink, but the production of food for one person requires 2000-5000 liters per day.

The question “how much water do people drink” (on average, per developed countries— two to five liters a day) is not as important as “how much water people eat” (according to some estimates, in developed countries this figure is 3,000 liters a day).

For production 1 kg of wheat requires 800 to 4,000 liters of water, 1 kg of beef requires 2,000 to 16,000 liters, 1 kg of rice requires 3450 liters.

Increasing meat consumption in the most developed countries: in 2002, Sweden consumed 76 kg of meat per person, and the US 125 kg per person.

According to some estimates, a Chinese consumer who ate 20 kg of meat in 1985 will eat 50 kg in 2009. This increase in consumption will increase the demand for grain. One kilogram of grain requires 1,000 kg (1,000 liters) of water. This means that an additional 390 km 3 of water per year will be required to meet the demand.

4. Demographic growth

The scarcity of water resources will increase due to population growth. The total number of inhabitants of the planet, which is currently 6.6 billion people, growing by approximately 80 million annually. Hence the growing need for drinking water, which is about 64 billion cubic meters per year.

By 2025, the population of the Earth will exceed 8 billion people. (EPE). 90% of the 3 billion people expected to add world population by 2050 will be in developing countries, many of whom are located in areas where current populations do not have adequate access to clean water and sanitation (UN).

More than 60% of the global population growth that will occur between 2008 and 2100 will be in sub-Saharan Africa (32%) and South Asia (30%), which together will account for 50% of the world's population 2100.

5. Urban population growth

Urbanization will continue - migration to cities, whose inhabitants are much more sensitive to water shortages. In the 20th century, there was a very sharp increase in the urban population (from 220 million to 2.8 billion). In the next few decades, we will witness its unprecedented growth in developing countries.

It is expected that the number of urban dwellers will grow by 1.8 billion people (compared to 2005) and will account for 60% of the total world population (UN). About 95% of this growth will come from developing countries.

According to EPE, by 2025, 5.2 billion people will live in cities. This level of urbanization will require extensive water distribution infrastructure and the collection and treatment of used water, which is not possible without massive investment.

6. Migration

Currently, there are about 192 million migrants in the world (in 2000 there were 176 million). The lack of water in desert and semi-desert regions will cause intensive migration of the population. This is expected to affect 24 to 700 million people. Relationship between water resources and migration - bilateral process: Water scarcity leads to migration, and migration in turn contributes to water stress. According to some calculations, in the future, coastal regions, where 15 of the 20 megacities of the world are located, will feel the greatest pressure from the influx of migrants. In the world next century all more residents will live in vulnerable urban and coastal areas.

7. Climate change

In 2007, the UN Conference on Climate Change, held in Bali, recognized that even minimally predictable climate change in the 21st century, twice the 0.6°C increase since 1900, would be severely devastating. effects.

Scientists agree that global warming will intensify and accelerate global hydrological cycles. In other words, intensification can be expressed in an increase in the rate of evaporation and the amount of precipitation. It is not yet known what impact this will have on water resources, but it is expected that water scarcity will affect its quality and the frequency of extreme situations such as droughts and floods.

Presumably, by 2025, warming will be 1.6ºС compared to the pre-industrial period (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - Groupe d'experts Intergouvernemental sur l'Evolution du Climat).

Now 85% of the world's population lives in the arid part of our planet. In 2030 47% of the world's population will live in areas with high water stress.

Only in Africa by 2020 from 75 to 250 million people could face increased pressure on water resources caused by climate change. Along with the growing demand for water; this may affect the livelihoods of the population and exacerbate water supply problems (IPCC 2007).

The impact of climate warming on water resources: a 1ºC increase in temperature will lead to the complete disappearance of small glaciers in the Andes, which may lead to problems in supplying water to 50 million people; a 2ºC increase in temperature will cause a 20-30% reduction in water resources in "unprotected" regions (southern Africa, the Mediterranean).

Global climate change and strong anthropogenic influence cause the processes of desertification and deforestation.

According to the World Human Development Report 2006, by 2025 the number of people suffering from lack of water will reach 3 billion, whereas today their number is 700 million. This problem will be especially acute in southern Africa, China and India.

8. Growth in consumption. Raising the standard of living

9. Intensification of economic activity

The development of the economy and the service sector will lead to additional growth in water consumption, with most of the responsibility falling on industry, not agriculture (EPE).

10. Growth in energy consumption

According to the International Agency for atomic energy(IAEA), the global demand for electricity should increase by 55% by 2030. Only the share of China and India will be 45%. Developing countries will account for 74%.

It is assumed that the amount of energy generated by hydroelectric power plants for the period from 2004 to 2030. will grow annually by 1.7%. Its overall growth over this period will be 60%.

Dams criticized for serious environmental impact and involuntary resettlement a large number people, many today, however, are seen as a possible solution to the water problem in the face of declining supplies of fossil energy carriers, the need to move to more clean sources energy, the need to adapt to different hydrological conditions and the instability caused by climate change.

11. Biofuel production

Biofuels are being used to meet growing energy needs. However, the widespread production of biofuels further reduces the area under crops for growing plant foods.

Bioethanol production tripled over the period 2000-2007. and amounted to about 77 billion liters in 2008. The largest producers of this type of biofuel are Brazil and the United States - their share in world production is 77%. Production of biodiesel fuel produced from oilseeds for the period from 2000-2007. increased 11 times. 67% of it is produced in the countries of the European Union (OECD-FAO, 2008)

In 2007, 23% of the maize produced in the US was used to produce ethanol, and 54% of the sugarcane crop was used for this purpose in Brazil. 47% of vegetable oil produced in the European Union was used to produce biodiesel.

However, despite the increased use of biofuels, its share in total volume energy production remains small. In 2008, the share of ethanol in the transportation fuel market was estimated at 4.5% in the USA, 40% in Brazil, and 2.2% in the EU. While biofuels can reduce dependence on fossil energy sources, they can put disproportionate pressure on biodiversity and the environment. The main problem is the need for large amounts of water and fertilizers to ensure the crop. To produce 1 liter of ethanol, 1000 to 4000 liters of water are required. It is assumed that in 2017 the global volume of ethanol production will be 127 billion liters.

About 1/5 of the US maize crop was used in 2006/2007. for ethanol production, replacing about 3% of the country's gasoline fuel (World Development Report 2008, World Bank).

It takes about 2500 liters of water to produce one liter of ethanol. According to World Energy Outlook 2006, biofuel production is increasing by 7% per year. Its production may not create real problems where there is heavy rainfall. A different situation is developing in China, and in the near future in India.

12. Tourism

Tourism has become one of the factors in the growth of water consumption. In Israel, the use of water by hotels along the Jordan River is credited with the drying up of the Dead Sea, where water levels have fallen by 16.4 meters since 1977. Golf tourism, for example, has a huge impact on water withdrawals: eighteen holes can consume over 2.3 million liters of water per day. In the Philippines, the use of water for tourism threatens rice cultivation. Tourists in Grenada (Spain) typically use seven times as much water as local residents, and this figure is considered common in many developing tourist areas.

In Britain, the improvement of sanitation and water purification in the 1880s. contributed to a 15-year increase in life expectancy over the next four decades. (HDR, 2006)

Lack of water and sanitation costs South Africa approximately 5% of the country's GDP annually (UNDP).

Each inhabitant of developed countries uses on average 500-800 liters of water per day (300 m 3 per year); in developing countries, this figure is 60-150 liters per day (20 m 3 per year).

443 million are skipped every year school days due to water related diseases.

Development of the water market

Water Crisis Management

In the UN Millennium Declaration adopted in 2000 international community committed to halving the number of people without access to clean drinking water by 2015 and to end the unsustainable use of water resources.

The relationship between poverty and water is clear: the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day is about the same as the number without access to safe drinking water.

Since 2001, water resources have been the main priority of the Sector natural sciences UNESCO.

The problem of water is one of the most acute, although not the only one, for developing countries.

Benefits of investing in water resources

According to some estimates, Every dollar invested in improving water and sanitation yields between $3 and $34.

The total cost incurred in Africa alone due to lack of access to safe water and lack of sanitation facilities is about $US 28.4 billion per year or about 5% of GDP(WHO, 2006)

A survey of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region found that groundwater depletion appears to have reduced GDP in some countries (Jordan by 2.1%, Yemen by 1.5% , Egypt - by 1.3%, Tunisia - by 1.2%).

Water storage

Reservoirs provide reliable sources of water for irrigation, water supply and hydropower generation, and for flood control. For developing countries, it is no exception when 70 to 90% of the annual runoff accumulates in reservoirs. However, only 4% of renewable runoff is retained in African countries.

virtual water

All countries import and export water in the form of water equivalents, i.e. in the form of agricultural and industrial goods. The calculation of used water is defined by the concept of "virtual water".

The theory of "virtual water" in 1993 was the beginning new era in determining the policy of agriculture and water resources in regions experiencing water scarcity, and campaigns aimed at saving water resources.

About 80% of virtual water flows are associated with trade in agricultural products. Approximately 16% of the world's water depletion and pollution problems are related to production for export. The prices of goods sold rarely reflect the cost of water use in producing countries.

For example, Mexico imports wheat, maize, and sorghum from the US, which require 7.1 Gm 3 of water to produce in the US. If Mexico produced them at home, it would take 15.6 Gm 3 . The total water savings resulting from the international trade in virtual water in the form of agricultural products is equivalent to 6% of the total volume of water used in agriculture.

Water recycling

Agricultural use of urban wastewater remains limited, except in a few countries with very poor water resources (40% of drainage water is reused in the Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip, 15% in Israel and 16% in Egypt).

Water desalination is becoming more and more accessible. It is used mainly for the production of drinking water (24%) and for industrial needs (9%) in countries that have exhausted the limits of their renewable water sources ( Saudi Arabia, Israel, Cyprus, etc.).

Water management projects

Approaches to solve the problem of water scarcity:

• Breeding crops that are resistant to drought and saline soils,
• water desalination,
• Water storage.

Today, there are political solutions aimed at reducing water losses, improving water management, and reducing the need for them. Many countries have already adopted laws for the conservation and efficient use of water, however, these reforms have not yet yielded tangible results.

Participants of the Venice Forum (The World Conference of The Future of Science, 2008) offer leaders of the largest international organizations and the governments of the leading countries of the world to start large-scale investments in research work related to the solution of specific problems of developing countries in the field of combating hunger and malnutrition. In particular, they consider it necessary to start as soon as possible a major project to seawater desalination for desert irrigation, first of all, in tropical countries and create a special fund to support agriculture.

The structure of water consumption with a predominance of its agricultural use determines that the search for ways to solve the water shortage should be carried out through the introduction of agricultural technologies that make it possible to make better use of precipitation, reduce irrigation losses and increase field productivity.

It is in agriculture that unproductive water consumption is the highest and it is estimated that about half of it is wasted. This represents 30% of the world's total fresh water resources, which represents a huge savings reserve. There are many ways to help reduce water consumption. Traditional irrigation is inefficient. In developing countries, mainly surface irrigation is used, for which dams are built. This method, simple and cheap, is used, for example, in rice cultivation, but a significant part of the water used (about half) is lost due to infiltration and evaporation.

It is quite easy to achieve savings if you use the drip method of irrigation: no a large number of deliver water directly to the plants, using tubes laid above the ground (and even better - underground). This method is economical, but its installation is expensive.

Judging by the volume of water losses, the existing water supply and irrigation systems are recognized as extremely inefficient. It is estimated that in the Mediterranean region, water losses in urban water pipes are 25%, and in irrigation canals 20%. By at least, some of these losses can be avoided. Cities such as Tunis (Tunisia) and Rabat (Morocco) have managed to reduce water losses by up to 10%. Water loss management programs are currently being introduced in Bangkok (Thailand) and Manila (Philippines).

With growing shortages, some countries have already begun to include water management strategy into their development plans. In Zambia, this integrated water resources management policy covers all sectors of the economy. The result of this water management, linked to national development plans, was not long in coming, and many donors began to include investments in the water sector in Zambia's overall aid portfolio.

While this experience remains limited, some countries are already using treated wastewater for agriculture: 40% is reused in the Gaza Strip in the Palestinian Territories, 15% in Israel and 16% in Egypt.

Also used in desert regions seawater desalination method. It is used to obtain drinking and technical water in countries that have reached the limit in the use of renewable water resources (Saudi Arabia, Israel, Cyprus, etc.).

Thanks to the use of modern membrane technology the cost of water desalination has decreased to 50 cents per 1000 liters, but it is still very expensive given the amount of water needed to produce food raw materials. Therefore, desalination is more suitable for the production of drinking water or for use in the food industry, where the added value is quite high. If the cost of desalination can be further reduced, then the severity of water problems could be significantly reduced.

The Desertec Foundation has prepared developments designed to combine desalination plants and thermal stations solar-powered, capable of producing cheap electricity on the coast of North Africa and the Middle East. For these zones, considered the driest in the world, such a solution would be a way out of water problems.

Southeast Anatolia Development Project in Turkey(GAP) is a multi-sector socio-economic development plan focused on increasing the incomes of the population in this least developed region of the country. Its total estimated cost is 32 million dollars, 17 million of them by 2008 have already been invested. With the development of irrigation here, per capita income has tripled. Electrification rural areas and the availability of electricity reached 90%, the literacy of the population increased, infant mortality decreased, business activity increased, and the land tenure system became more equal in irrigated lands. The number of cities with running water has quadrupled. This region has ceased to be one of the least developed in the country.

Australia also made changes to its policy by implementing whole line measures. Restrictions have been placed on watering gardens, washing cars, filling pools with water, and the like. in the largest cities of the country. In 2008 Sydney introduced dual water supply system - drinking water and purified (technical) for other needs. By 2011, a desalination plant is under construction. Investment in the water sector in Australia has doubled from A$2 billion per year to A$4 billion per year over the past 6 years.

UAE. The Emirates decided to invest more than $20 billion over 8 years in the construction and launch of desalination plants. At the moment, 6 such plants have already been launched, the remaining 5 will be built within the above period of time. Thanks to these plants, it is planned to more than triple the amount of drinking water. The need for investment in the construction of new factories is due to the growing population in the UAE.

Ambitious project planned in UAE Sahara Forest to turn part of the desert into an artificial forest capable of feeding and watering thousands of people by creating vast super greenhouses. Combination solar power plants thermal type and original desalination plants would allow the Sahara Forest to produce food, fuel, electricity and drinking water literally “out of nothing”, which would transform the whole region.

The cost of "Forest of the Sahara" is estimated at 80 million euros for a complex of greenhouses with an area of ​​20 hectares, combined with solar installations with a total capacity of 10 megawatts. "Greening" the world's greatest desert is still a project. But pilot projects built in the image of the Sahara Forest may well appear in the coming years in several places at once: business groups in the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait have already expressed interest in funding these unusual experiments.

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is a massive program (since 2002) of building dams and galleries that transport water from the highlands of Lesotho, an enclave country located inside South Africa and the size of Belgium, to the arid regions of the province of Gauteng, located near Johannesburg.

Ethiopia: Large investment in infrastructure (dam construction, provision of well water to rural areas. Across the country, an increase in the number of tenders for projects to improve access to drinking water, large infrastructure projects (boreholes).

In Pakistan, the government is seriously considering forcibly melting the glaciers of the Pamirs and the Himalayas.

In Iran, rain cloud management projects are being considered.

In 2006, on the outskirts of Lima (Peru), biologists launched a project to create an irrigation system that collects water from fog. Large-scale construction is needed to create the structure for another fog tower project on the coast of Chile.

According to marketing research materials about water (excerpts),

For more detailed information (water prices in different countries of the world, etc..

WATER RESOURCES LAND

Until relatively recently, water, like air, was considered one of the free gifts of nature, only in areas of artificial irrigation it always had high price. Recently, the attitude towards land water resources has changed. This is explained by the fact that fresh water resources make up only 2.5% of the total volume of the hydrosphere. In absolute terms, this is a huge value (30-35 million m 3), which exceeds the current needs of mankind by more than 10 thousand times! However, the vast majority of fresh water is, as it were, conserved in the glaciers of Antarctica, Greenland, in the ice of the Arctic, in mountain glaciers and forms a kind of "emergency reserve" that is not yet available for use.

Indicators:
96.5% - salty waters of the oceans; 1% - saline groundwater; 2.5% - fresh water resources.

Fresh water: 68.7 - glaciers; 30.9% - groundwater.

Table 11. Distribution of world fresh water resources by major regions.

The data in this table allow us to draw interesting conclusions. First of all, about the extent to which the ranking of countries according to the first indicator does not coincide with their ranking according to the second. It can be seen that Asia has the largest fresh water resources, and the smallest - Australia and Oceania, while in terms of their specific provision they change their places. Of course, it's all about the population, which in Asia has already reached 3.7 billion people, and in Australia it barely exceeds 30 million. If we discount Australia, then South America will be the region of the world most provided with fresh water. And it is no coincidence, because it is here that the Amazon is located - the most deep river peace.

They differ even more in terms of reserves and availability of fresh water. individual countries. Based on the principle of "most-most", we will show which of them belong to the category of the richest and poorest in fresh water.

Table 12. Top ten countries by freshwater resources.

In it, too, the ranking of resources does not coincide with the ranking of the specific endowment, and in each individual case, such a difference can be explained. For example, in China and India - a huge population, therefore - low security per capita. But there are also countries in the world that are even less provided with fresh water, where less than 1 thousand m 3 of water falls per capita (i.e., such an amount that a resident of a large European or American city consumed in about two days). The most striking examples of this kind can be found in the Saharan part of Africa (Algeria - 520 m 3, Tunisia - 440 m 3, Libya - 110 m 3) and in the region of the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia - 250 m 3, Kuwait - 100 m 3).

These individual examples are interesting in that they allow us to make an important generalization: at the end of the 20th century. Approximately 2/5 of the population of our planet experience a chronic lack of fresh water. AT this case we are talking mainly about those developing countries that are located in the arid belt of the Earth. One cannot ignore the fact that even the available fresh water in these countries is so polluted that it is the main cause of most diseases.

The main consumer of fresh water is agriculture, where irretrievable water consumption is very high, especially for irrigation. Industrial-energy and municipal water consumption is also growing all the time. In economically developed countries, a city dweller uses 300-400 liters of water per day. Such an increase in consumption with constant river runoff resources creates a real threat of fresh water shortages.

In this case, it is necessary to take into account not only the quantity, but also the quality of water. In developing countries, every third inhabitant suffers from a lack of drinking water. The consumption of polluted water is the source of 3/4 of all diseases and 1/3 of all deaths. More than 1 billion people in Asia lack access to clean water, 350 million in sub-Saharan Africa and 100 million in Latin America.

But, in addition, fresh water reserves on Earth are distributed extremely unevenly. In the equatorial zone and in the northern part temperate zone it is available in abundance and even in abundance. The most water-abundant countries are located here, where more than 25 thousand m 3 per capita per year. In the arid belt of the Earth, which covers about 1/3 of the land area, water shortage is felt especially acutely. The countries with the least water per capita are located here, where per capita is less than 5 thousand m 3 per year, and agriculture is possible only with artificial irrigation.

There are several ways to solve the water problem of mankind. The main one is the reduction of the water intensity of production processes and the reduction of irretrievable water losses. First of all, this applies to such technological processes as the production of steel, synthetic fiber, cellulose and paper, to the cooling of power units, to the irrigation of rice and cotton fields. Of great importance for solving the water problem is the construction of reservoirs that regulate river flow. Over the past fifty years, the number of reservoirs on the globe has increased by about 5 times. In total, more than 60 thousand reservoirs have been created in the world, the total volume of which (6.5 thousand km 3) is 3.5 times greater than the one-time volume of water in all rivers the globe. Taken together, they occupy an area of ​​400 thousand km 2, which is 10 times the area Sea of ​​Azov. Such large rivers as the Volga, Angara in Russia, Dnieper in Ukraine, Tennessee, Missouri, Columbia in the USA, and many others, have actually turned into cascades of reservoirs. Especially important role large and largest reservoirs play a role in the transformation of river runoff. The problem is that the main source of meeting the needs of mankind in fresh water has been and remains river (channel) water, which determines the "water ration" of the planet - 40 thousand km 3. It is not so significant, especially considering that about 1/2 of this amount can actually be used.

According to the number of large reservoirs, the United States, Canada, Russia, some countries of Africa and Latin America stand out.

Table 13. Largest reservoirs in the world by volume of water (countries)

In the USA, Canada, Australia, India, Mexico, China, Egypt, and a number of CIS countries, numerous projects have been implemented or are being planned for the territorial redistribution of river flow with the help of its transfer. However, in recent times the most major projects inter-basin transfers were canceled for economic and environmental reasons. In the countries of the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean, in Turkmenistan, on the Caspian Sea, in the south of the USA, in Japan, on the islands caribbean desalination of sea water is used; the world's largest producer of such water is Kuwait. Fresh water has already become a commodity of world trade: it is transported in sea tankers, along long-distance water pipelines. Projects are being developed to tow icebergs from Antarctica, which each polar summer sends 1200 million tons of fresh water preserved in them to the countries of the arid zone.

You know that river runoff is also widely used to generate hydropower. World hydropower potential, suitable for use, is estimated at almost 10 trillion kWh. possible power generation. About 1/2 of this potential falls on only 6 countries: China, Russia, USA, Congo (former Zaire), Canada, Brazil.

Table 14 . World economic hydro potential and its use

Regions	Total		Including used, %
	billion kWh	in %
CIS	1100	11,2
Foreign Europe
Overseas Asia	2670	27,3
Africa	1600	16,4
North America	1600	16,4
Latin America	1900	19,4
Australia and Oceania
The whole world	Basic concepts: geographic (environment) environment, ore and non-metallic minerals, ore belts, pools of minerals; structure of the world land fund, southern and northern forest belts, forest cover; hydropower potential; shelf, alternative sources energy; resource availability, natural resource potential (NRP), territorial combination of natural resources (RTSR), areas of new development, secondary resources; environmental pollution, environmental policy. Skills: be able to characterize the natural resources of the country (region) according to the plan; use various methods of economic evaluation of natural resources; characterize the natural prerequisites for the development of industry and agriculture of the country (region) according to the plan; give a brief description of the location of the main types of natural resources, single out the countries "leaders" and "outsiders" in terms of availability of one or another type of natural resources; give examples of countries that do not have rich natural resources, but have achieved a high level of economic development and vice versa; give examples of rational and irrational use of resources.

At present, water, especially fresh water, is an extremely important strategic resource. In recent years, the world's water consumption has increased, and there are fears that there simply won't be enough for everyone. According to the World Commission on Water, today every person needs 20 to 50 liters of water daily for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.

However, about a billion people in 28 countries around the world do not have access to so many vital resources. About 2.5 billion people live in areas experiencing moderate or acute shortage water. It is assumed that by 2025 this number will increase to 5.5 billion and will amount to two-thirds of the world's population.

, in connection with the negotiations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic on the use of transboundary waters, ranked 10 countries with the largest reserves of water resources in the world:

10th place

Myanmar

Resources - 1080 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 23.3 thousand cubic meters. m

The rivers of Myanmar - Burma are subject to the monsoon climate of the country. They originate in the mountains, but do not feed on glaciers, but on precipitation.

More than 80% of the annual river nutrition is rain. In winter, the rivers become shallow, some of them, especially in central Burma, dry up.

There are few lakes in Myanmar; the largest of them is the tectonic lake Indoji in the north of the country with an area of ​​210 sq. km.

9th place

Venezuela

Resources - 1,320 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 60.3 thousand cubic meters. m

Almost half of the thousand rivers in Venezuela run off the Andes and the Guiana Plateau into the Orinoco, the third largest river in Latin America. Its basin covers an area of ​​about 1 million square meters. km. The Orinoco drainage basin occupies approximately four-fifths of the territory of Venezuela.

8th Place

India

Resources - 2085 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 2.2 thousand cubic meters. m

India has a large amount of water resources: rivers, glaciers, seas and oceans. The most significant rivers are: Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna, Narbada, Mahanadi, Kaveri. Many of them have importance as sources of irrigation.

Eternal snows and glaciers in India occupy about 40 thousand square meters. km of territory.

7th place

Bangladesh

Resources - 2,360 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 19.6 thousand cubic meters. m

There are many rivers flowing through Bangladesh, and the floods of large rivers can last for weeks. Bangladesh has 58 transboundary rivers, and issues arising from the use of water resources are very sensitive in discussions with India.

6th place

Resources - 2,480 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 2.4 thousand cubic meters. m

The United States occupies a vast territory, on which there are many rivers and lakes.

5th place

Indonesia

Resources - 2,530 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 12.2 thousand cubic meters. m

In Indonesian territories all year round a fairly large amount of precipitation falls, because of this, the rivers are always full-flowing and play essential role in the irrigation system.

4th place

China

Resources - 2,800 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 2.3 thousand cubic meters. m

China has 5-6% of the world's water reserves. But China is the most populous country in the world, and its water distribution is highly uneven.

3rd place

Canada

Resources - 2,900 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 98.5 thousand cubic meters. m

Canada is one of the richest countries in the world with lakes. On the border with the United States are the Great Lakes (Upper, Huron, Erie, Ontario), connected by small rivers into a huge basin of more than 240 thousand square meters. km.

Less significant lakes lie on the territory Canadian shield(Great Bear, Great Slave, Athabasca, Winnipeg, Winnipegosis), etc.

2nd place

Russia

Resources - 4500 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 30.5 thousand cubic meters. m

Russia is washed by the waters of 12 seas belonging to three oceans, as well as the inland Caspian Sea. On the territory of Russia there are over 2.5 million large and small rivers, more than 2 million lakes, hundreds of thousands of swamps and other objects of the water fund.

1 place

Brazil

Resources - 6,950 cubic meters. km

Per capita - 43.0 thousand cubic meters. m

The rivers of the Brazilian Plateau have significant hydropower potential. Most large lakes countries - Mirim and Patos. Main rivers: Amazon, Madeira, Rio Negro, Parana, Sao Francisco.

Also list of countries by total renewable water resources(based on the CIA Country Directory).

Until relatively recently, water, like air, was considered one of the free gifts of nature, only in areas of artificial irrigation it always had a high price. Recently, the attitude towards land water resources has changed.

Per last century The consumption of fresh water in the world has doubled, and the planet's water resources do not meet such a rapid increase in human needs. According to the World Commission on Water, today every person needs 40 (20 to 50) liters of water daily for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene. However, about a billion people in 28 countries around the world do not have access to so many vital resources. More than 40% of the world's population (about 2.5 billion people) lives in areas experiencing moderate or severe water scarcity. It is expected that by 2025 this number will increase to 5.5 billion and will amount to two-thirds of the world's population. The vast majority of fresh water is, as it were, conserved in the glaciers of Antarctica, Greenland, in the ice of the Arctic, in mountain glaciers and forms a kind of "emergency reserve" that is not yet available for use. Different countries differ greatly in fresh water reserves. Below is a ranking of countries with the largest fresh water resources in the world. However, this ranking is based on absolute figures and does not match per capita figures.

10. Myanmar

1080 km3 Per capita

23.3 thousand m3 The rivers of Myanmar - Burma are subject to the monsoon climate of the country. They originate in the mountains, but do not feed on glaciers, but on precipitation. More than 80% of the annual river nutrition is rain. In winter, the rivers become shallow, some of them, especially in central Burma, dry up. There are few lakes in Myanmar; the largest of them is the tectonic lake Indoji in the north of the country with an area of ​​210 square meters. km. Despite the relatively high absolute figures, the inhabitants of some areas of Myanmar suffer from a shortage of fresh water.

9. Venezuela

1320 km3 Per capita

60.3 thousand m3 Almost half of the more than a thousand rivers of Venezuela run off the Andes and the Guiana Plateau into the Orinoco, the third largest river in Latin America. Its basin covers an area of ​​about 1 million square meters. km. The Orinoco drainage basin occupies approximately four-fifths of the territory of Venezuela.

2085 km3 Per capita

2.2 thousand m3 India has a large amount of water resources: rivers, glaciers, seas and oceans. The most significant rivers are: Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna, Narbada, Mahanadi, Kaveri. Many of them are important as sources of irrigation. About 40,000 km2 of territory is occupied by eternal snows and glaciers in India. However, given India's huge population, the per capita supply of fresh water is quite low.

7. Bangladesh

2360 km3 Per capita

19.6 thousand m3 Bangladesh is one of the countries in the world with the highest population density. This is largely due to the extraordinary fertility of the Ganges Delta and regular floods caused by monsoon rains. However, overcrowding and poverty have become a real disaster for Bangladesh. There are many rivers flowing through Bangladesh, and the floods of large rivers can last for weeks. Bangladesh has 58 transboundary rivers and issues related to the use of water resources are very sensitive in discussions with India. However, despite the relatively high level of water availability, the country faces a problem: Bangladesh's water resources are often subject to arsenic poisoning due to its high content in the soil. Up to 77 million people are exposed to arsenic poisoning through drinking contaminated water.

2480 km3 Per capita

2.4 thousand m3 of the United States occupy a vast territory, which is home to many rivers and lakes. However, despite the fact that the United States has such fresh water resources, this does not save California from the worst drought in history. In addition, given the high population of the country, the supply of fresh water per capita is not so high.

5. Indonesia

2530 km3 Per capita

12.2 thousand m3 The special relief of the territories of Indonesia, combined with a favorable climate, at one time contributed to the formation of a dense river network in these lands. In the territories of Indonesia, a fairly large amount of precipitation falls all year round, because of this, the rivers are always full-flowing and play a significant role in the irrigation system. Almost all of them flow from the Maoke Mountains north into the Pacific Ocean.

2800 km3 Per capita

2.3 thousand m3 China has 5-6% of the world's water reserves. But China is the most densely populated country in the world, and water on its territory is distributed extremely unevenly. The south of the country has been fighting for thousands of years and today is fighting floods, building and building dams to save crops and people's lives. The north of the country and the central regions are suffering from lack of water.

2900 km3 Per capita

98.5 thousand m3 Canada has 7% of the world's renewable fresh water resources and less than 1% of the total population of the Earth. Accordingly, per capita income in Canada is one of the highest in the world. Most of Canada's rivers belong to the basin of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, and much fewer rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean. Canada is one of the richest countries in the world with lakes. On the border with the United States are the Great Lakes (Upper, Huron, Erie, Ontario), connected by small rivers into a huge basin of more than 240 thousand square meters. km. Less significant lakes lie on the territory of the Canadian Shield (Great Bear, Great Slave, Athabasca, Winnipeg, Winnipegosis), etc.

4500 km3 Per capita

30.5 thousand m3 In terms of reserves, Russia accounts for more than 20% of the world's fresh water resources (excluding glaciers and groundwater). In calculating the volume of fresh water per inhabitant of Russia, there are about 30 thousand m3 of river runoff per year. Russia is washed by the waters of 12 seas belonging to three oceans, as well as the inland Caspian Sea. On the territory of Russia there are over 2.5 million large and small rivers, more than 2 million lakes, hundreds of thousands of swamps and other objects of the water fund.

1. Brazil

6950 km3 Per capita

43.0 thousand m3 Brazil's water resources are represented by huge amount rivers, the main of which is the Amazon (the greatest river in the world). Almost a third of this large country is occupied by the Amazon River basin, which includes the Amazon itself and more than two hundred of its tributaries. This gigantic system contains a fifth of all the river waters of the world. The rivers and their tributaries flow slowly, during the rainy seasons they often overflow their banks and flood vast areas of tropical forests. The rivers of the Brazilian Plateau have significant hydropower potential. The largest lakes in the country are Mirim and Patos. Main rivers: Amazon, Madeira, Rio Negro, Parana, Sao Francisco.

Which can be used in business activities.

The total volume of static water resources in Russia is estimated at approximately 88.9 thousand km 3 of fresh water, of which a significant part is concentrated in groundwater, lakes and glaciers, the estimated share of which is 31%, 30% and 17%, respectively. The share of Russian static fresh water reserves in the global resources is on average about 20% (excluding glaciers and groundwater). Depending on the type water sources this indicator varies from 0.1% (for glaciers) to 30% (for lakes).

The dynamic reserves of water resources in Russia amount to 4,258.6 km 3 per year (more than 10% of the world indicator), which makes Russia the second country in the world in terms of gross volume of water resources after Brazil. At the same time, according to such an indicator as the availability of water resources, Russia ranks 28th in the world ().

Russia has significant water resources and annually uses no more than 2% of their dynamic reserves; At the same time, a number of regions experience a shortage of water, which is mainly due to the uneven distribution of water resources across the country - the most developed areas of the European part of Russia, where more than 80% of the population is concentrated, account for no more than 10–15% of water resources.

Rivers

The river network of Russia is one of the most developed in the world: there are about 2.7 million rivers and streams on the territory of the state.

Over 90% of the rivers belong to the basins of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans; 10% - to the Atlantic Ocean basin (Baltic and Azov-Black Sea basins) and drainless internal basins, the largest of which is the Caspian Sea basin. At the same time, about 87% of the population of Russia lives in the regions belonging to the basins of the Caspian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and the main part of the economic infrastructure, industrial production capacities and productive agricultural land is concentrated.

The length of the vast majority of Russian rivers does not exceed 100 km; a significant part of them are rivers less than 10 km long. They represent about 95% of the more than 8 million km of the Russian river network. Small rivers and streams are the main element of the channel network of watershed areas. Up to 44% of the population of Russia lives in their basins, including almost 90% of the rural population.

The average long-term river flow of Russian rivers is 4258.6 km 3 per year, most of this volume is formed on the territory of the Russian Federation and only a small part comes from the territory of neighboring states. The river runoff is unevenly distributed across the regions of Russia - the average annual indicator varies from 0.83 km 3 per year in the Republic of Crimea to 930.2 km 3 per year in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

The average in Russia is 0.49 km/km 2, while the spread of this indicator is uneven for different regions - from 0.02 km/km 2 in the Republic of Crimea to 6.75 km/km 2 in the Altai Republic.

A feature of the structure of the river network of Russia is the predominantly meridional direction of flow of most rivers.

The largest rivers in Russia

The question of which river is the largest in Russia can be answered in different ways - it all depends on what indicator to compare. The main indicators of rivers are the area of ​​the basin, length, average long-term flow. It is also possible to compare by such indicators as the density of the river network of the basin and others.

The largest water systems in Russia in terms of basin area are the systems of the Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Amur and Volga; the total area of ​​the basins of these rivers is over 11 million km 2 (including the foreign parts of the basins of the Ob, Yenisei, Amur and, slightly, the Volga).

About 96% of all lake water reserves are concentrated in the eight largest lakes in Russia (excluding the Caspian Sea), of which 95.2% is located in Lake Baikal.

The largest lakes in Russia

When determining which lake is the largest, it is important to determine the indicator by which the comparison will be made.The main indicators of lakes are the area of ​​the mirror and the area of ​​the basin, the average and maximum depths, the volume of water, salinity, height above sea level, etc.The undisputed leader in most indicators (area, volume, basin area) is the Caspian Sea.

The largest mirror area is near the Caspian Sea (390,000 km 2), Baikal (31,500 km 2), Lake Ladoga (18,300 km 2), Lake Onega (9,720 km 2) and Lake Taimyr (4,560 km 2).

The largest lakes in terms of catchment area are the Caspian (3,100,000 km 2), Baikal (571,000 km 2), Ladoga (282,700 km 2), Ubsu-Nur on the border of Mongolia and Russia (71,100 km 2) and Vuoksa (68,500 km 2).

The deepest lake not only in Russia, but also in the world is Baikal (1642 m). The next are the Caspian Sea (1025 m), Khantayskoye (420 m), Koltsevoe (369 m) and Tserik-Kol (368 m) lakes.

The most full-flowing lakes are the Caspian (78,200 km 3), Baikal (23,615 km 3), Ladoga (838 km 3), Onega (295 km 3) and Khantai (82 km 3).

The most salty lake in Russia is Elton (the mineralization of water in the lake in autumn reaches 525‰, which is 1.5 times more than the mineralization of the Dead Sea) in the Volgograd region.

Lakes Baikal, Lake Teletskoye and Ubsu-Nur are included in the World natural heritage UNESCO. In 2008, Lake Baikal was recognized as one of the seven wonders of Russia.

reservoirs

About 2,700 reservoirs with a capacity of more than 1 million m 3 with a total useful volume of 342 km 3 are in operation on the territory of Russia, and more than 90% of their number are reservoirs with a capacity of more than 10 million m 3.

The main purposes of using reservoirs:

• water supply;
• Agriculture;
• energy;
• water transport;
• fisheries;
• rafting;
• irrigation;
• recreation (rest);
• flood protection;
• flooding;
• shipping.

The flow of rivers in the European part of Russia is most strongly regulated by reservoirs, where there is a shortage of water resources in certain periods. For example, the flow of the Ural River is regulated by 68%, the Don - by 50%, the Volga - by 40% (reservoirs of the Volga-Kama cascade).

A significant proportion of the regulated flow falls on the rivers of the Asian part of Russia, primarily in Eastern Siberia - Krasnoyarsk Territory and Irkutsk region(reservoirs of the Angara-Yenisei cascade), as well as the Amur region in the Far East.

The largest reservoirs in Russia

Due to the fact that the filling of reservoirs seriously depends on seasonal and annual factors, the comparison is usually carried out according to the indicators achieved by the reservoir at (FSL).

The main tasks of reservoirs are the accumulation of water resources and the regulation of river flow, therefore, the important indicators by which the size of reservoirs are determined are total and. It is also possible to compare reservoirs by such parameters as FSL size, dam height, mirror area, length coastline and others.

Most large reservoirs are located in their entirety in eastern regions Russia: Bratskoye (169,300 million m3), Zeya (68,420 million m3), Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk (63,000 million m3 each) and Ust-Ilimskoye (58,930 million m3).

The largest reservoirs in Russia in terms of useful volume are Bratskoye (48,200 million m 3), Kuibyshevskoye (34,600 million m 3), Zeya (32,120 million m 3), Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk (31,500 million m located in the east; The European part of Russia is represented by only one reservoir, Kuibyshev, located in five regions of the Volga region.

The largest reservoirs in terms of mirror area: Irkutsk on the river. Angara (32,966 km 2), Kuibyshevskoye on the river. Volga (6,488 km 2), Bratskoye on the river. Angara (5,470 km 2), Rybinsk (4,550 km 2) and Volgograd (3,309 km 2) on the river. Volga.

swamps

Wetlands play an important role in shaping the hydrological regime of rivers. Being a stable source of river nutrition, they regulate floods and floods, stretching them in time and height, and within their arrays contribute to the natural purification of river waters from many pollutants. One of important functions swamps is a carbon deposit: the swamp binds carbon and thus reduces the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, weakening Greenhouse effect; annually, Russian swamps sequester about 16 million tons of carbon.

The total area of ​​swamps in Russia is more than 1.5 million km2, or 9% of the total area. Swamps are distributed unevenly across the country: the largest number swamps are concentrated in the northwestern regions of the European part of Russia and in central regions West Siberian Plain; to the south, the process of swamp formation is weakened and almost stops.

The most swampy region is the Murmansk region - swamps make up 39.3% of the total area of ​​the region. The least waterlogged are the Penza and Tula regions, the Republics of Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia and Ingushetia, the city of Moscow (including new territories) - about 0.1%.

The swamp areas range from a few hectares to thousands of square kilometers. About 3,000 km 3 of static water reserves are concentrated in swamps, and their total average annual runoff is estimated at 1,000 km 3 /year.

An important element of swamps is peat - a unique combustible mineral of plant origin, which has and. The total reserves of peat in Russia are about 235 billion tons, or 47% of the world's reserves.

The largest swamps in Russia

The largest swamp in Russia and one of the largest in the world is the Vasyugan swamp (52,000 km 2), located on the territory of four regions of the Russian Federation. - Salymo-Yugansk swamp system (15,000 km 2), Upper Volga wetland complex (2,500 km 2), Selgono-Kharpinsky swamps (1,580 km 2) and Usinsk swamp (1,391 km 2).

Vasyugan swamp is a candidate for inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites.

Glaciers

The total number of glaciers in the Russian Federation is over 8 thousand, the area of ​​island and mountain glaciers is about 60 thousand km 2, water reserves are estimated at 13.6 thousand km 3, which makes glaciers one of the largest accumulators of water resources in the country.

Besides, large stocks fresh water are conserved in the ice of the Arctic, but their volumes are constantly decreasing and, according to latest estimates, by 2030 this strategic reserve fresh water may disappear.

Most of the glaciers in Russia are represented ice sheets islands and archipelagos of the Northern Arctic Ocean- they contain about 99% of Russia's glacial water resources. Mountain glaciers account for just over 1% of the glacial water supply.

The share of glacial nutrition in the total runoff of rivers originating from glaciers reaches 50% of the annual volume; the average long-term glacial runoff feeding the rivers is estimated at 110 km 3 /year.

Glacial systems of Russia

In terms of glaciation area, the largest are the mountain glacial systems of Kamchatka (905 km 2), the Caucasus (853.6 km 2), Altai (820 km 2), the Koryak Highlands (303.5 km 2) and the Suntar-Khayat ridge (201.6 km 2).

The largest reserves of fresh water are contained in the mountain glacial systems of the Caucasus and Kamchatka (50 km 3 each), Altai (35 km 3), Eastern Sayan (31.8 km 3) and the Suntar-Khayat ridge (12 km 3).

The groundwater

Groundwater accounts for a significant part of fresh water reserves in Russia. In the context of the increasing deterioration in the quality of surface water, fresh groundwater is often the only source of drinking water supply for the population. High Quality protected from pollution.

The natural reserves of groundwater in Russia are about 28 thousand km 3; predictive resources, according to state monitoring subsoil conditions are about 869,055 thousand m 3 /day - from approximately 1,330 thousand m 3 /day in the Crimean to 250,902 thousand m 3 /day in the Siberian Federal District.

The average availability of forecast groundwater resources in Russia is 6 m 3 /day per person.

HYDROTECHNICAL SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES

Hydraulic structures (HTS) - structures for the use of water resources, as well as to combat the negative impact of water. Dams, canals, dams, shipping locks, tunnels, etc. GTS make up a significant part of the water management complex of the Russian Federation.

There are about 65,000 GTS in Russia for water management, fuel and energy complexes and transport infrastructure.

To redistribute river flow from areas with an excess of river flow to areas with its deficit, 37 large water management systems have been created (the volume of flow transferred is about 17 billion m 3 /year); about 30 thousand reservoirs and ponds with a total capacity of more than 800 billion m 3 have been built to regulate river flow; to protect settlements, economic facilities and agricultural land, more than 10 thousand km of protective water barriers and ramparts were built.

The reclamation and water management complex of federal property includes more than 60 thousand various hydraulic structures, including over 230 reservoirs, more than 2 thousand regulating hydroelectric facilities, about 50 thousand km of water supply and waste channels, over 3 thousand km of protective ramparts and dams .

The transport hydroelectric facilities include more than 300 navigable hydraulic structures located on inland waterways and owned by the federal government.

The hydrotechnical structures of Russia are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Agency for Water Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Part of the GTS is privately owned, over 6,000 are ownerless.

Channels

Artificial canals are an important part of the water system of the Russian Federation. The main tasks of the canals are the redistribution of runoff, navigation, irrigation, and others.

Almost all operating shipping channels of Russia are located in the European part and, with some exceptions, are included in the Unified deep water system of the European part of the country. Some of the canals are historically combined into waterways, for example, Volga-Baltic and North Dvina, consisting of natural (rivers and lakes) and artificial (canals and reservoirs) waterways. There are also sea channels created to reduce the length of sea roads, reduce the risks and dangers of navigation, and increase the cross-country ability associated with the seas. water bodies.

The main part of economic (reclamation) canals with a total length of over 50 thousand km is concentrated in the Southern and North Caucasian federal districts, in lesser degree- in the Central, Volga and in the south of the Siberian Federal District. The total area of ​​reclaimed lands in Russia is 89 thousand km2. Irrigation is of great importance for Russian agriculture, since arable land is located mainly in the steppe and forest-steppe zones, where crop yields fluctuate sharply from year to year depending on weather conditions, and only 35% of arable land is in favorable moisture conditions.

The largest channels in Russia

The largest waterways in Russia are: the Volga-Baltic waterway (861 km), which includes, in addition to natural routes, the Belozersky, Onega bypass, Vytegorsky and Ladoga canals; the White Sea-Baltic Canal (227 km), the Volga-Caspian Canal (188 km), the Moscow Canal (128 km), the North Dvina Waterway (127 km), including the Toporninsky, Kuzminsky, Kishemsky and Vazerinsky channels; Volga-Don Canal (101 km).

The longest economic canals in Russia that take water directly from water bodies (rivers, lakes, reservoirs): North Crimean Canal -, - a legal act regulating relations in the field of water use.

In accordance with Article 2 of the Water Code, the water legislation of Russia consists of the Code itself, other federal laws and the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation adopted in accordance with them, as well as by-laws adopted by executive authorities.

Water legislation (laws and regulations issued in accordance with them) is based on the following principles:

Russia’s legal system in the field of use and protection of water bodies includes international treaties of Russia and ratified international conventions, such as the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, 1971) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Helsinki). , 1992).

Water management

The central link in the field of use and protection of water resources is the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia), which exercises the authority to develop public policy and legal regulation in the field of water relations in Russia.

Water resources management in Russia federal level carried out by the Federal Agency for Water Resources (Rosvodresursy), which is part of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia.

The powers of Rosvodresursy to provide public services and manage federal property in the regions are exercised by the territorial subdivisions of the agency - basin water authorities (BVU), as well as 51 subordinate institutions. Currently, there are 14 STBs operating in Russia, the structure of which includes departments in all regions of the Russian Federation. The exceptions are the regions of the Crimean Federal District - in accordance with the agreements signed in July-August 2014, part of the powers of Rosvodresurs were transferred by the relevant structures of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea and the Government of Sevastopol.

The management of water resources that are in regional ownership is carried out by the relevant structures of regional administrations.

The management of federal objects of the reclamation complex is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation (Department of Reclamation), water bodies transport infrastructure– Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation (Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport).

State accounting and monitoring of water resources is carried out by the Federal Water Resources; for maintaining the State Water Register - with the participation of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet) and the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra); for maintaining the Russian register of hydraulic structures - with the participation of the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (Rostekhnadzor) and the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Transport (Rostransnadzor).

Supervision over compliance with the law in terms of the use and protection of water bodies is carried out by the Federal Service for Nature Management (Rosprirodnadzor), and hydraulic structures - by Rostekhnadzor and Rostransnadzor.

According to Water Code In the Russian Federation, the main unit of the management structure in the field of the use and protection of water bodies is the basin districts, however, today the existing structure of the Federal Water Resources Agency is organized according to the administrative-territorial principle and in many respects does not coincide with the boundaries of the basin districts.

Public policy

The basic principles of state policy in the field of use and protection of water bodies are enshrined in the Water Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2020 and include three key areas:

• guaranteed supply of water resources to the population and sectors of the economy;
• protection and restoration of water bodies;
• ensuring protection from the negative impact of water.

As part of the implementation of the state water policy in 2012, the federal target program “Development of the water management complex of the Russian Federation in 2012–2020” (FTP “Water of Russia”) was adopted. Also, the federal target program "Clean Water" for 2011-2017, the federal target program "Development of melioration of agricultural land in Russia for 2014-2020", target programs in the Russian regions were also adopted.