The largest supply of fresh water. Fresh water

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Where is the most fresh water? (ranking of countries of the world)

The size of the freshwater area is one of the most obvious indicators of the richness of the natural resources of a country. In the future, it is water that will become one of the most expensive and sought-after resources on the world market, because even now a bottle of mineral water in grocery stores often costs more than a liter of gasoline! At the same time, it should be noted that many countries do not have their own freshwater area at all, which puts them on the brink of an ecological disaster! Some futurologists predict an increase in instability in the world and even wars precisely because of and for this valuable, but very underestimated resource - water! The FOX-calculator project decided to figure out which countries in the world have the largest freshwater area. To put it simply, which countries in the world have the largest supply of fresh water.

Fresh water is the most valuable resource of the second half of the 21st century!

List of countries by freshwater reserves (size of freshwater area):

Ordinal number of the country by the size of freshwater area No. State Freshwater area, thousand square kilometers
The first place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Canada 891 thousand square kilometers
The second place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: the Russian Federation 720 thousand square kilometers
The third place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: United States of America 664 thousand square kilometers
The fourth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: India 314 thousand square kilometers
The fifth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Iran 116 thousand square kilometers
The seventh place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Ethiopia 104 thousand square kilometers
The eighth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Colombia 100 thousand square kilometers
The ninth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Indonesia 93 thousand square kilometers
Tenth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Congo (Kinshasa) 77 thousand square kilometers
Eleventh place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Tanzania 61 thousand square kilometers
The twelfth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Australia 58 thousand square kilometers
The thirteenth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Brazil 55 thousand square kilometers
The fourteenth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Uganda 43 thousand square kilometers
Fifteenth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Argentina 42 thousand square kilometers
The sixteenth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Sweden 40 thousand square kilometers
Seventeenth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Finland 34 thousand square kilometers
Eighteenth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Venezuela 30 thousand square kilometers
Nineteenth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: China 27 thousand square kilometers
The twentieth place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Pakistan 25 thousand square kilometers
Twenty-first place in terms of fresh water reserves is occupied by: Kazakhstan 24 thousand square kilometers

Water reserves in the world. List of countries by water resources

A list of 173 countries of the world is presented, ordered by the volume of total renewable water resources according to [ . The data includes long-term average renewable water resources (in cubic kilometers of rainfall, renewable groundwater, and surface inflows from neighboring countries.

Brazil has the largest renewable water resources - 8,233.00 cubic kilometers. Russia has the largest reserves in Europe and the second in the world - 4,508.00. Further USA - 3 069.00, Canada - 2 902.00 and China - 2 840.00. Full table - see below.

Fresh water. Stocks[Source - 2].

Fresh water- the opposite of sea water, covers that part of the available water of the Earth, in which salts are contained in minimal quantities. Water whose salinity does not exceed 0.1%, even in the form of steam or ice, is called fresh water. Ice masses in the polar regions and glaciers contain the largest part of the earth's fresh water. In addition, fresh water exists in rivers, streams, underground waters, fresh lakes, and also in clouds. According to various estimates, the share of fresh water in the total amount of water on Earth is 2.5-3%.

About 85-90% of fresh water is contained in the form of ice. The distribution of fresh water across the globe is extremely uneven. In Europe and Asia, where 70% of the world's population lives, only 39% of river waters are concentrated.

In terms of surface water resources, Russia occupies a leading position in the world. Only in the unique Lake Baikal are concentrated about 20% of the world's fresh lake water reserves and more than 80% of Russia's reserves. With a total volume of 23.6 thousand km³, about 60 km³ of rare natural water is reproduced in the lake annually.

According to the UN at the beginning of the 2000s, more than 1.2 billion people live in conditions of constant shortage of fresh water, about 2 billion suffer from it regularly. By the middle of the 21st century, the number of people living with a constant lack of water will exceed 4 billion people. In such a situation, some experts say that Russia's main advantage in the long term is water resources.

Fresh water reserves: atmospheric vapor - 14,000 or 0.06%, river fresh water - 200 or 0.005%, total Total 28,253,200 or 100%. Sources - Wikipedia:,.

List of countries by water resources[Source - 1]

№ The countryThe total volume of the renewal. water resources (cu km)date info
mation
1 Brazil8 233,00 2011
2 Russia4 508,00 2011
3 United States3 069,00 2011
4 Canada2 902,00 2011
5 China2 840,00 2011
6 Colombia2 132,00 2011
7 European Union2 057.76 2011
8 Indonesia2 019,00 2011
9 Peru1 913,00 2011
10 Congo, DR1 283,00 2011
11 India1 911,00 2011
12 Venezuela1 233,00 2011
13 Bangladesh1 227,00 2011
14 Burma1 168,00 2011
15 Chile922,00 2011
16 Vietnam884,10 2011
17 Republic of the Congo832,00 2011
18 Argentina814,00 2011
19 Papua New Guinea801,00 2011
20 Bolivia622,50 2011
21 Malaysia580,00 2011
22 Australia492,00 2011
23 Philippines479,00 2011
24 Cambodia476,10 2011
25 Mexico457,20 2011
26 Thailand438,60 2011
27 Japan430,00 2011
28 Ecuador424,40 2011
29 Norway382,00 2011
30 Madagascar337,00 2011
31 Paraguay336,00 2011
32 Laos333,50 2011
33 New Zealand327,00 2011
34 Nigeria286,20 2011
35 Cameroon285,50 2011
36 Pakistan246,80 2011
37 Guyana241,00 2011
38 Liberia232,00 2011
39 Guinea226,00 2011
40 Mozambique217,10 2011
41 Romania211,90 2011
42 Turkey211,60 2011
43 France211,00 2011
44 Nepal210,20 2011
45 Nicaragua196,60 2011
46 Italy191,30 2011
47 Sweden174,00 2011
48 Iceland170,00 2011
49 Gabon164,00 2011
50 Serbia162,20 2011
51 Sierra Leone160,00 2011
52 Germany154,00 2011
53 Angola148,00 2011
54 Panama148,00 2011
55 United Kingdom147,00 2011
56 Centre. African. Rep.144,40 2011
57 Ukraine139,60 2011
58 Uruguay139,00 2011
59 Iran137,00 2011
60 Ethiopia122,00 2011
61 Suriname122,00 2011
62 Costa Rica112,40 2011
63 Spain111,50 2011
64 Guatemala111,30 2011
65 Finland110,00 2011
66 Kazakhstan107,50 2011
67 Croatia105,50 2011
68 Zambia105,20 2011
69 Hungary104,00 2011
70 Mali100,00 2011
71 Tanzania96.27 2011
72 Honduras95.93 2011
73 Netherlands91,00 2011
74 Iraq89.86 2011
75 Ivory Coast81.14 2011
76 Butane78,00 2011
77 Austria77,70 2011
78 North Korea77.15 2011
79 Greece74.25 2011
80 South Korea69,70 2011
81 Portugal68,70 2011
82 Taiwan67,00 2011
83 Uganda66,00 2011
84 Afghanistan65.33 2011
85 Sudan64,50 2011
86 Georgia63.33 2011
87 Poland61,60 2011
88 Belarus58,00 2011
89 Egypt57,30 2011
90 Switzerland53,50 2011
91 Ghana53,20 2011
92 Sri Lanka52,80 2011
93 Ireland52,00 2011
94 South Africa51,40 2011
95 Slovakia50,10 2011
96 Uzbekistan48.87 2011
97 Solomon islands44,70 2011
98 Chad43,00 2011
99 Albania41,70 2011
100 Senegal38,80 2011
101 Cuba38.12 2011
102 Bosnia and Herzegovina37,50 2011
103 Latvia35.45 2011
104 Mongolia34,80 2011
105 Azerbaijan34.68 2011
106 Niger33.65 2011
107 Slovenia31.87 2011
108 Guinea-Bissau31,00 2011
109 Kenya30,70 2011
110 Morocco29,00 2011
111 Fiji28.55 2011
112 Benin26.39 2011
113 Equatorial Guinea26,00 2011
114 Salvador25.23 2011
115 Lithuania24,90 2011
116 Turkmenistan24.77 2011
117 Kyrgyzstan23.62 2011
118 Tajikistan21.91 2011
119 Bulgaria21,30 2011
120 Dominican Republic21,00 2011
121 Zimbabwe20,00 2011
122 Belize18.55 2011
123 Belgium18,30 2011
124 Namibia17.72 2011
125 Malawi17.28 2011
126 Syria16,80 2011
127 Somalia14,70 2011
128 Go14,70 2011
129 Haiti14,03 2011
130 Czech Republic13,15 2011
131 Estonia12,81 2011
132 Burundi12,54 2011
133 Burkina Faso12,50 2011
134 Botswana12,24 2011
135 Algeria11,67 2011
136 Moldova11,65 2011
137 Mauritania11,40 2011
138 Rwanda9,50 2011
139 Jamaica9,40 2011
140 Brunei8,50 2011
141 Gambia8,00 2011
142 Armenia7,77 2011
143 Macedonia6,40 2011
144 Eritrea6,30 2011
145 Denmark6,00 2011
146 Tunisia4,60 2011
147 Swaziland4,51 2011
148 Lebanon4,50 2011
149 Trinidad and Tobago3,84 2011
150 Luxembourg3,10 2011
151 Lesotho3,02 2011
152 Mauritius2,75 2011
153 Saudi Arabia2,40 2011
154 Yemen2,10 2011
155 Israel1,78 2011
156 Oman1,40 2011
157 Comoros1,20 2011
158 Jordan0.94 2011
159 Cyprus0.78 2011
160 Libya0,70 2011
161 Singapore0,60 2011
162 Cape Verde0,30 2011
163 Djibouti0,30 2011
164 UAE0,15 2011
165 Bahrain0.12 2011
166 Barbados0.08 2011
167 Qatar0.06 2011
168 Antigua and Barbuda0,05 2011
169 Malta0,05 2011
170 Maldives0.03 2011
171 Bahamas0.02 2011
172 Kuwait0.02 2011
173 Saint Kitts and Nevis0.02 2011

Water plays an exceptional role in maintaining the life of any organism. This substance can be represented in three states of aggregation: solid, liquid and gaseous. But it is the liquid that is the main internal environment of the human body and other organisms, because. all biochemical reactions take place here, and it is in it that all cell structures are located.

What percentage is water on earth?

According to some estimates, about 71% of the total is water. It is represented by oceans, rivers, seas, lakes, swamps, icebergs. Separately, atmospheric air vapors are also considered.

Of this total, only 3% is fresh water. Most of it is found in icebergs, as well as in rivers and lakes on the continents. So how much of the water on Earth is in the seas and oceans? These basins are places of accumulation of saline H2O, which makes up 97% of the total volume.

If it were possible to collect all the water that is on earth into one drop, then the sea would take up a volume of approximately 1.400 million km 3, and fresh water would collect in a drop with a volume of 10 million km 3. As you can see, there is 140 times less fresh water on Earth than salt water.

What percent does it take on Earth?

About 3% of the total liquid is fresh water. Most of it is concentrated in icebergs, mountain snows and groundwater, and only a small amount is in the rivers and lakes of the continents.

Actually, fresh water is divided into accessible and inaccessible. The first group consists of rivers, swamps and lakes, as well as layers of the earth's crust and atmospheric air vapor. All this man has learned to use for his own purposes.

How many percent of fresh water on Earth is inaccessible? First of all, these are large reserves in the form of icebergs and mountain snow covers. They make up the majority of fresh water. Also deep waters of the earth's crust form a significant part of all fresh H2O. People have not yet learned to use either source, but there is great benefit in this, because. a person cannot yet competently dispose of such an expensive resource as water.

in nature

Fluid circulation plays a big role for living organisms, because. water is a universal solvent. This makes it the main internal environment of animals and plants.

Water is concentrated not only in the human body and other creatures, but also in water basins: seas, oceans, rivers, lakes, swamps. The fluid cycle begins with precipitation such as rain or snow. Then the water accumulates and then evaporates under the influence of the environment. This is clearly seen in periods of drought and heat. The circulation of liquid in the atmosphere determines how many percent of the water on earth is concentrated in the solid, liquid and gaseous state.

The cycle is of great ecological importance, because the liquid circulates in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and the earth's crust, and thus self-cleansing. In some reservoirs, where the level of pollution is quite high, this process is of great importance for maintaining the life of the organisms of the ecosystem, but the restoration of the former "purity" takes a long period of time.

Origin of water

The riddle of how the first water appeared has not been solved for a long time. However, several hypotheses have appeared in the scientific community that offer options for the formation of liquid.

One of these conjectures refers to the time when the Earth was still in its infancy. It is associated with the fall of "wet" meteorites, which could bring water with them. It accumulated in the bowels of the Earth, which gave rise to the primary hydration shell. Nevertheless, scientists cannot answer the question of what percentage of the water on Earth was contained at that distant time.

Another theory is based on the terrestrial origin of water. The main impetus for the formation of this hypothesis was the finding of a relatively large concentration of heavy hydrogen deuterium in the seas and oceans. The chemical nature of deuterium is such that it could only be formed on Earth by increasing the atomic mass. Therefore, scientists believe that the liquid was formed on Earth and has no cosmic origin. However, researchers who support this hypothesis still cannot answer the question of what percentage of the water on Earth was 4.4 billion years ago.

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 severe water scarcity. 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 are important 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 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.

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 of the 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. The largest lakes in the country are 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).

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 losses is over 30%, reaching even 80% in some extreme cases.
  • More than 32 billion cubic meters of drinking water is leaking water 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 the lack of water will act as one of the obstacles to the further development of mankind. This applies to the greatest extent to developing countries, where:

  • Intensive population growth
  • A high level of industrialization, accompanied by pollution of the environment and water in particular,
  • Lack of water treatment infrastructure,
  • Significant demand for water from the agricultural sector,
  • Medium or low level of 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 resources (approx. 35 million km3) 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) is groundwater, and lakes, artificial lakes and rivers account for less than 0.5% of all fresh water.

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

Many experts call the "water issue" one of the most serious challenges for humanity in the future. The period 2005-2015 has been declared by the UN General Assembly as the International Decade for 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) are the most deficient in 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 of over 4000 m. But the water shortage in Pakistan is already so high that the government is seriously considering 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, regions of Asian Russia south of the taiga zone, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

According to the World Resources Institute, fresh water reserves in the countries of Central Asia (excluding Tajikistan) and in Kazakhstan per capita are 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 precipitation and there will be problems with drinking water, there may be problems with navigation along certain rivers, the area of ​​​​permafrost will decrease, soil temperatures will rise, in the northern regions, productivity 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 of 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 foreign policy priority for the US administration. 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 US, 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 in by truck, but it costs ten times more for the poor than for 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 (bottled water is the main source of drinking water for half of the urban population). 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, a leading cause of illness and death, is due in large part to lack of sanitation and hygiene 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, and water management.

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). The area of ​​irrigated land has doubled over the past decades, and water withdrawal has tripled.

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 people drink” (on average, in developed countries - from two to five liters per day) is not as important as “how much water people eat” (according to some estimates, in developed countries this figure is 3,000 liters per 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 who will add to the world's 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. The relationship between water resources and migration is a two-way 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 of the next century, more and more inhabitants will live in vulnerable urban and coastal areas.

7. Climate change

In 2007, the United Nations 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 an additional increase in water consumption, with most of the responsibility will fall on industry, not agriculture (EPE).

10. Growth in energy consumption

According to the calculations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (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 their severe environmental impacts and the forced displacement of large numbers of people, are now seen by many as a possible solution to the water problem in the face of declining fossil energy supplies, the need to move to cleaner energy sources, 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 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, perhaps, does not create real problems in, where heavy rainfall occurs. 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 the water level has 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).

Every year, 443 million school days are missed due to water-related illnesses.

Development of the water market

Water Crisis Management

In the Millennium Declaration adopted by the UN in 2000, the international community committed itself to halve the number of people without access to clean drinking water by 2015 and 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 roughly the same as the number without access to safe drinking water.

Since 2001, water resources have been a top priority for the Natural Sciences Sector of 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, 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 marked the beginning of a 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 to meet the needs of industry (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.

The participants of the Venice Forum (The World Conference of The Future of Science, 2008) invite the leaders of major international organizations and governments of the world's leading countries to start large-scale investments in research related to solving 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, primarily 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: a small amount of water is delivered 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%. At least part 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 developed designs to combine desalination plants and solar-powered thermal power plants into one system, 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-sectoral 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 of rural areas and the availability of electricity have reached 90%, literacy of the population has increased, child mortality has decreased, business activity has increased, and the land tenure system has become 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 changed its policy by implementing a number of 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. The combination of thermal solar power plants and original distillers would allow the Sahara Forest to produce food, fuel, electricity and drinking water literally out of nothing, which would transform the entire 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 (dams, provision of well water to rural areas. Increasing number of tenders across the country 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..

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