Countries provided with water resources. Intensification of economic activity. Fresh water consumption in different parts of the world
The following countries are most provided with water resources: Brazil (8,233 km 3), Russia (4,508 km 3), USA (3,051 km 3), Canada (2,902 km 3), Indonesia (2,838 km 3), China (2 830 km 3), Colombia (2,132 km 3), Peru (1,913 km 3), India (1,880 km 3), Congo (1,283 km 3), Venezuela (1,233 km 3), Bangladesh (1,211 km 3), Burma (1046 km 3).
The volume of water resources per capita by country (m 3 per year per capita)
Most of the water resources per capita are in French Guiana (609,091 m 3), Iceland (539,638 m 3), Guyana (315,858 m 3), Suriname (236,893 m 3), Congo (230,125 m 3), Papua New Guinea (121,788 m3), Gabon (113,260 m3), Bhutan (113,157 m3), Canada (87,255 m3), Norway (80,134 m3), New Zealand (77.305 m3), Peru (66,338 m3), Bolivia (64,215 m3), Liberia (61,165 m3), Chile (54,868 m3), Paraguay (53,863 m3), Laos (53,747 m3), Colombia ( 47,365 m3), Venezuela (43,846 m3), Panama (43,502 m3), Brazil (42,866 m3), Uruguay (41,505 m3), Nicaragua (34,710 m3), Fiji (33,827 m3 3), the Central African Republic (33,280 m3), Russia (31,833 m3).
The least water resources per capita are in Kuwait (6.85 m 3), the United United Arab Emirates(33.44 m 3), Qatar (45.28 m 3), the Bahamas (59.17 m 3), Oman (91.63 m 3), Saudi Arabia (95.23 m 3), Libya (95 .32 m 3).
On average on Earth, each person has 24,646 m 3 (24,650,000 liters) of water per year.
The next map is even more interesting.
Share of transboundary runoff in the total annual runoff of the rivers of the countries of the world (in %)
Few countries in the world rich in water resources can boast of having "at their disposal" river basins that are not separated by territorial boundaries. Why is it so important? Take for example the largest tributary of the Ob - the Irtysh. ()
. The source of the Irtysh is located on the border of Mongolia and China, then the river flows through the territory of China for more than 500 km, crosses the state border and flows through the territory of Kazakhstan for about 1800 km, then the Irtysh flows for about 2000 km through the territory of Russia until it flows into the Ob. According to international agreements, China can take half of the annual flow of the Irtysh for its own needs, Kazakhstan - half of what remains after China. As a result, this can greatly affect the fullness Russian section Irtysh (including hydropower resources). At present, China annually Russia 2 billion km 3 of water. Therefore, the water supply of each country in the future may depend on whether the sources of rivers or sections of their channels are outside the country. Let's see how things stand with the strategic "water independence" in the world.
The map presented to your attention above illustrates the percentage of the volume of renewable water resources entering the country from the territory of neighboring states, of the total volume of the country's water resources. (A country with a value of 0% does not “receive” water resources at all from the territories of neighboring countries; 100% - all water resources come from outside the state).
The map shows that the following states are the most dependent on the “supplies” of water from the territory of neighboring countries: Kuwait (100%), Turkmenistan (97.1%), Egypt (96.9%), Mauritania (96.5%) , Hungary (94.2%), Moldova (91.4%), Bangladesh (91.3%), Niger (89.6%), Netherlands (87.9%).
In the post-Soviet space, the situation is as follows: Turkmenistan (97.1%), Moldova (91.4%), Uzbekistan (77.4%), Azerbaijan (76.6%), Ukraine (62%), Latvia (52. 8%), Belarus (35.9%), Lithuania (37.5%), Kazakhstan (31.2%), Tajikistan (16.7%) Armenia (11.7%), Georgia (8.2%) , Russia (4.3%), Estonia (0.8%), Kyrgyzstan (0%).
Now let's try to do some calculations, but first let's make rating of countries by water resources:
1. Brazil (8,233 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 34.2%)
2. Russia (4,508 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 4.3%)
3. USA (3,051 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 8.2%)
4. Canada (2,902 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 1.8%)
5. Indonesia (2,838 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 0%)
6. China (2,830 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 0.6%)
7. Colombia (2,132 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 0.9%)
8. Peru (1,913 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 15.5%)
9. India (1,880 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 33.4%)
10. Congo (1,283 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 29.9%)
11. Venezuela (1,233 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 41.4%)
12. Bangladesh (1,211 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 91.3%)
13. Burma (1,046 km 3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 15.8%)
Now, based on these data, we will compile our rating of countries whose water resources are least dependent on the potential reduction in transboundary flow caused by water intake by countries located upstream.
1. Brazil (5,417 km 3)
2. Russia (4,314 km 3)
3. Canada (2,850 km 3)
4. Indonesia (2,838 km 3)
5. China (2,813 km 3)
6. USA (2,801 km 3)
7. Colombia (2,113 km 3)
8. Peru (1,617 km 3)
9. India (1,252 km 3)
10. Burma (881 km 3)
11. Congo (834 km 3)
12. Venezuela (723 km 3)
13. Bangladesh (105 km 3)
In conclusion, I would like to note that the use of river waters is not limited to water intake alone. We should also not forget about the transboundary transfer of pollutants, which can significantly worsen the quality of river waters in river sections located in the territory of other countries downstream.
You can familiarize yourself with the map of groundwater reserves.
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Not all countries can boast that they have a river basin at their disposal, which does not need to be shared with other states. There are countries that are best provided with water resources, and there are those where there is already an acute shortage of drinking water. Why is an independent position important?
The following example will help you understand the situation better. The Irtysh is the largest tributary of the Ob River. Its source is located on the Mongolian-Chinese border, then the Irtysh crosses China.
The length of the river in Chinese territory is five hundred kilometers. After that, it flows through Kazakhstan (more than 1700 km long) and then crosses the border of Russia, where the distance to the confluence with the Ob is almost 2000 km.
Earlier, there was an agreement between the countries on the division of the Irtysh flow. According to it, half (and this is about two billion cubic km of water) is taken by China, and half of the remaining flow is taken by Kazakhstan. This cannot but affect the full flow of the river in the section belonging to Russia.
If the river flowed through the territory of only one state, its water supply would not depend on how honestly the neighboring country acts. When several states participate in the division of a resource, things may not be very good.
If you look at the map of the world, it clearly shows which countries the rivers flow through, and which of them depend (or do not depend) on their neighbors. There are many more states sharing the water resource. Because of this, they are almost completely dependent on water supplies:
- Egypt, Turkmenistan, Kuwait - from 95 to 100%.
- Bangladesh, Moldova, Mauritania, Hungary - from 90 to 95%.
- Netherlands, Niger - 86–88%.
Among the countries of the post-Soviet space, water dependence is as follows:
- Turkmenistan and Moldova - more than 90%.
- Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan - about 75%.
- Ukraine, Latvia - more than 52%.
- Lithuania, Belarus, Tajikistan - from 31 to 37%.
- Tajikistan, Armenia - more than 31%.
- Russia, Estonia - less than 5%.
- Kyrgyzstan is completely independent.
If we compare water resources in terms of reserves, there are states that occupy leading positions.
| The name of the country | Volume of water reserves (cubic km) | Share of transboundary flow (%) |
| Brazil | 8.3 thousand | 34,1 |
| Russia | 4.6 thousand | 4,3 |
| USA | 3.1 thousand | 3,9 |
| Canada | 2.9 thousand | 1,9 |
| Indonesia | 2,7 | 0 |
| China | 2,6 | 0,6 |
| Colombia | 2,2 | 0,8 |
Peru, Venezuela, Burma and many other states may not fear that they will be threatened by a decrease in transboundary flow.
Changes in the use of river waters
Water is needed not only for drinking and irrigation: rivers serve as transport arteries, which is very important in places where it is impossible to build highways. In addition, rivers can be a place for fishing and recreation for people, a means for generating electricity.
All is well when the rivers are all right. But this is not always possible. For example, water arteries can carry pollutants from upstream countries to downstream countries.
Due to the deterioration of the quality of river water, not only people, but also land can suffer. Vegetation, animals, birds begin to die on the banks of polluted rivers.
First of all, trees that grow near the coast die. But this does not mean that forests located remotely will not be affected. Pollution will spread either over the soil surface (during spring-autumn floods) or in its depths (by groundwater).
Significant changes in the volume or quality of river flow can result from:
- To change the agricultural economic activity and inability to use land resources. The lack of water or the inability to use it for watering plants due to pollution will make it impossible to grow many crops for food or industry. In addition, water problems can lead to pasture drought. And the lack of animal feed will force the number of livestock to be reduced or completely destroyed. All this can eventually lead to food shortages due to the impossibility of full land use. This situation can be observed in many countries where there are no rivers.
- To the death of forests. Forests occupy 30% of the land. In the north, coniferous species predominate, in the southern belts - tropical. Many of them grow near rivers. One such example is Brazil. More than 60 rivers flow in the vastness of this country, among which is the longest Amazon in the world. The territory of the state is covered with dense vegetation - tropical forests. Without the right amount of moisture, in particular, rivers, it is unlikely that the forests would be so dense. And Brazil, like other countries endowed with forest resources, occupies a leading position in terms of water reserves.
- To global climate or environmental changes. The death of fish and animals is only part of what awaits polluted or depleted rivers. Due to the lack of water, their banks turn into a swamp, the floodplains dry up. If polluted rivers flow through settlements, the ecological situation in them is deteriorating sharply.
Conclusion: today the world economy faces an acute problem that needs to be solved as soon as possible. The case concerns rational use waters, especially fresh waters. It just seems that there is a lot of water on the planet.
In fact, the picture is as follows:
- 96% of the planet's waters are in the oceans.
- Groundwater - 2%.
- Glaciers contain less than 2%.
- Surface water (fresh) is about 0.03% of the total. These include river, lake and swamp waters.
If we take into account the entire volume of water, then only 0.6 percent of them is fresh water. Every year, humanity uses more than 3.5 thousand cubic meters. km of water. This number includes used for the needs Agriculture(about 66%) and for industry (more than 20%). The water of the oceans is not used either for technical needs or for drinking.
World Ocean
The oceans of the Earth contain 96% of the water reserves that are used by all countries located on their shores. Accordingly, the reserves of the World Ocean are very important for the development of the productive forces of states.
The world ocean contains:
- Bioresources. These are phyto- and zooplankton, fish.
- Mineral raw materials. Moreover, at the bottom of the oceans, minerals are found in large quantities.
- Fresh water is a valuable resource that is becoming increasingly scarce. It is obtained by desalination.
In addition, the waters of the oceans:
- They are transport links.
- Represent energy potential.
- They purify the substances of various origin entering them.
If humanity can fully develop the resources of the planet's oceans, it will be able to solve many problems that are currently global.
Already today, the resources of the ocean shelves are widely used. It's about oil production. Thus, 32% of the produced oil has offshore origin, in - more than 85%. But Australia in this regard is the least rich: it receives only 50% of oil from the ocean floor.
Unitary republics Federal republics Unitary monarchies Federal monarchies
7. Least of all in the world there are: Unitary republics Federal republics Unitary monarchies Federative monarchies
8. Republican countries are: Spain, France and Turkey Argentina, Pakistan and Nigeria Japan, Norway and Malaysia Italy, Morocco and Belgium
9. Countries with a monarchical form of government are: Spain, France and Indonesia Argentina, Brazil and Mexico The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates Italy, Thailand and Denmark
10. Absolute monarchies are: Sweden and Malaysia Malaysia and Nepal Nepal and Kuwait Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
11. Most of the explored reserves of oil and natural gas are concentrated in: Asia Australia and Oceania Africa Latin America
12. Examine the table data: Indicator Oil reserves (2001) billion tons Oil production (2000) million tons Saudi Arabia 36.0 400 Kuwait 13.3 106 Libya 3.8 81 Venezuela 11.2 173 If the volume of production does not change Saudi Arabia Kuwait Libya Venezuela
13. Examine the table data: Indicator Oil reserves (2001) billion tons Oil production (2000) million tons Iran 12.3 193 UAE 13.0 121 Great Britain 0.7 127 Iraq 15.2 133 then the country least provided with oil reserves should be considered: Iran UAE Great Britain Iraq
14. Examine the data in the table: Indicator Explored coal reserves billion tons Coal production volume (2000) million tons Poland 25,162 China 105,1045 Australia 85,285 India 23,333 If the volume of production does not change, then the country with the most coal reserves should be considered: Poland China Australia India
15. Examine the data in the table: Indicator Explored iron ore reserves billion tons Iron ore production (2000) million tons Sweden 3.4 20.6 Canada 25.3 37.8 Brazil 49.3 197.7 Australia 23.4 172 ,9 If the volume of production does not change, then the country with the most iron ore reserves should be considered: Sweden Canada Brazil Australia
16. The largest reserves of water resources (total river flow) are: Russia Brazil Sweden Bangladesh
17. Population the globe is: About 4 billion people A little less than 5 billion people About 450 million people More than 6 billion people
18. Of these countries, the population exceeds 100 million people. only in: Japan Saudi Arabia Poland South Africa
19. In terms of freight turnover, the leading mode of transport in the world is: Road Rail Sea Pipeline
20. In terms of passenger turnover, the leading mode of transport in the world is: Road Rail Sea Pipeline
21. In Japan, in terms of passenger traffic, the leading mode of transport is: Road Rail Sea Pipeline
22. What is not a global problem: Environmental Demographic Urbanization Food
23. The most environmentally hazardous sector of the economy is: Production of building materials Service sector Railway transport Pulp and paper industry
24. Acid rainfall is primarily associated with air pollution by enterprises: Metallurgy and energy Transport Chemical industry Textile industry
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.
Over the past century consumption 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 assumed 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
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.
Despite the relatively high absolute figures, the inhabitants of some areas of Myanmar suffer from a lack of fresh water.
9. Venezuela
Per capita- 60.3 thousand cubic meters. m
Nearly half of Venezuela's 1,000+ rivers drain from the Andes and the Guiana Plateau into the Orinoco, the third largest river 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.
8. India
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.
However, given the huge population in India, the security fresh water per capita is quite low.
7. Bangladesh
Per capita- 19.6 thousand cubic meters. m
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 arising from the use of water resources are very sensitive in discussions with India.
However, despite the relatively high level of water resources, the country faces a problem: the water resources of Bangladesh 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.
6. USA
Per capita- 2.4 thousand cubic meters. m
The United States occupies a vast territory, on which there are 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, considering high numbers of the population of the country, the per capita supply of fresh water is not so high.
5. Indonesia
Per capita- 12.2 thousand cubic meters. m
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 Indonesian territories all year round a sufficiently large amount of precipitation falls, 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.
4. China
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 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.
north of the country and central regions languish from lack of water.
3. Canada
Per capita- 98.5 thousand cubic meters. m
Canada has 7% of the world's renewable freshwater resources and less than 1% of the world's total population. 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.
2. Russia
Per capita- 30.5 thousand cubic meters. m
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 cubic meters. m of river flow 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
Per capita- 43.0 thousand cubic meters m
Water resources Brazil is represented by a huge number of rivers, the main of which is the Amazon (the greatest river in the world).
Almost a third of this big country occupies 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.
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 supplies 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
- 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 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) - ground water, 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 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 former Soviet Union, they account 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, covering the mountains at an altitude above 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, environmental 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. On the this moment 36 states are on the verge of a major 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 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 countryside 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 services water supply (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 – mostly 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 total number diseases could be prevented by improving water supply, sanitation, hygiene, 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 countries with high income 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 way people live and eat, with a disproportionate increase in the consumption of meat and dairy products in countries with transition economy Today in the world one person consumes on average 2 times more water than in 1900, and this trend will continue due to the change in habitual consumption in developing countries.
AT modern 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 ah - 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 United States 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. Total population 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 that the world population will add 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 load for water resources.
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%. His 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- the need for in large numbers water and fertilizer to ensure the harvest. 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 about 5% of 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
The use of urban wastewater in agriculture remains limited, with the exception of a few countries with very poor water resources (40% drainage water 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.
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, 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 processed wastewater for the needs of 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 rural areas and the availability of electricity reached 90%, the literacy of the population increased, child 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 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 the Sahara Forest 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 and likeness 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. 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.
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