The volume of the World Ocean, according to the latest data of scientists, is 1338 million km 3, or approximately 96.5% of all water on Earth. In world reserves, water has three states: liquid (salt and fresh), solid (fresh) and gaseous (also fresh). The area of ​​the seas and oceans of the world is about 71% of the entire surface of the globe and covers its surface with a layer, the average thickness of which is about 4000 m. Fresh water is contained in such hydrosphere objects as rivers, lakes and bowels of the earth. The reserves of water resources on Earth are inexhaustible, as they are continuously renewed in the process of the global water cycle. River waters are renewed most quickly - in 10-12 days, atmospheric vapors are renewed on average every 10 days, soil moisture - annually. Atmospheric precipitation plays a major role in the renewal of fresh water reserves. On average, about 1000 mm of precipitation per year falls on the globe, and less than 250 mm per year in deserts and at high latitudes. At the same time, about a quarter of all precipitation falls on land, the rest - on the oceans.

According to various estimates, the share of fresh water in the total amount of water on Earth is 2-3% (31-35 million km 3), more than half of these reserves are contained in the form of ice. Ice covers in the Arctic and Antarctic make up 24 million km 3 - 69% of all terrestrial fresh water. Mankind conditionally has 0.3%, or 93 thousand km 3, of fresh water that could be used for economic purposes, of which 30% is groundwater and only 0.12% is surface water of rivers and lakes.

In the channels of all the rivers of the world, at an average water level, there are 2120 km 3. During the year, approximately 45 thousand km 3 of water is carried into the ocean by rivers. The reservoirs of the lakes of the world contain approximately 176.4 thousand km 3 of water, the atmosphere contains an average of 12,900 km 3 in the form of water vapor, the world's groundwater reserve is 1120 km 3.

Tables 5.3 and 5.4 present the largest rivers and lakes in the world.

More than 60% of the world's fresh water reserves belong to 10 countries of the world. Brazil's fresh water reserves are 9950 km 3 per year, Russia - 4500 km 3. This is followed by Canada, China, Indonesia, USA, Bangladesh, India, Venezuela, Myanmar.

The world's water resources are extremely unevenly distributed. In the equatorial zone and in the northern part of the temperate zone, water is available in abundance and even in excess. The most water-abundant countries are located here, where more than 25 thousand m 3 of water per capita per year.

Asia accounts for 60% of the world's population and 36% of water resources. For a long time Europe accounts for 13% of the world's population and 8% of the world's water resources, Africa - 13 and 11%, North and Central America - 8 and 15%, Oceania - less than 1 and 5%, South America - 6 and 26%.

Table 53

The longest rivers in the world

				Countries in the drainage basin
			mediterranean	Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt, Congo
			East China Sea
	Mississippi - Missouri - Jefferson		Mexican	USA (98.5%), Canada (1.5%)
	Yenisei - Angara - Selenga - Ider		Kara Sea	Russia, Mongolia
			Bohai
	Ob - Irtysh		Gulf of Ob	Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia
	Lena - Vitim		Laptev sea
	Amur - Argun - Mutnaya duct - Kerulen		Sea of ​​Japan or Okhotsk	Russia, China, Mongolia
	Congo - Lua-laba - Luvua - Luapula - Chambezi		Atlantic	Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda

Until recently, scientists argued about which of the two largest river systems is longer - the Nile or the Amazon. It used to be thought that the Nile, but the data of the 2008 expeditions made it possible to establish the location of the sources of the Ucayali River, which put the Amazon in the first place. Also debatable is the question of whether to take into account in the length of the South American river a branch to the south of Marajo Island at its mouth.

The largest lakes in the world

Table 5.4

		Area, km 2	States
	Caspian Sea (salty) 1		Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan
			Canada, USA
	Victoria		Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
			Canada, USA
	Tanganyika		Burundi, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania
	Big Bear
			Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania
	Slave
			Canada, USA
	Winnipeg
			Canada, USA
	Balkhash (salted)		Kazakhstan
	Ladoga

The largest lakes by area by continent: Victoria (Africa); subglacial Lake Vostok (Antarctica); Caspian Sea, Baikal, Lake Ladoga (Eurasia); Air (Australia); Michigan-Huron (North America); Maracaibo (salty) and Titicaca (fresh) (South America).

On fig. Figures 5.4 and 5.5 present freshwater resources by country and per capita.

Rice. 5.4.Fresh water resources per capita (thousand km 3) by country

Rice. 5.5.Fresh water resources by country (m 3)

The leaders of water consumption in the world are Turkmenistan (5319 m3/year), Iraq (2525 m3/year), Kazakhstan (2345 m3/year), Uzbekistan (2295 m3/year), Guyana (2161 m3/year), Kyrgyzstan (1989 m 3 /year), Tajikistan (1895 m 3 /year),

Canada (1468 m 3 / year), Azerbaijan (1415 m 3 / year), Suriname (1393 m 3 / year), Ecuador (1345 m 3 / year), Thailand (1366 m 3 / year), Ecuador (1345 m 3 / year), Iran (1288 m 3 / year), Australia (1218 m 3 / year), Bulgaria (1099 m 3 / year), Pakistan (1092 m 3 / year), Afghanistan (1061 m 3 / year), Portugal (1088 m 3 / year), Sudan (1025 m 3 / year), USA (972.10 m 3 / year) *.

Relatively low per capita water consumption is observed in Africa, as well as in Europe, including Russia (455.50 m 3 /year) and Belarus (289.20 m 3 /year).

The provision of the Earth's population with fresh water from all sources, including available resources (in the upper part of the diagram), is shown in fig. 5.6.

Rice. 5.6.

On average, about 13-14 thousand m 3 of fresh water per year falls on one inhabitant of the planet. At the same time, only 2 thousand m 3 per person per year, or 6-7 m 3 per day (the volume of one average tank truck for transporting water) is available for use in economic circulation. Due to this water, food production, the processing of minerals and the work of industry, as well as all the infrastructure for the “average inhabitant”, are provided.

The provision of each inhabitant of the planet with fresh water has decreased by 2.5 times over the past 50 years alone 1 .

In Africa, only 10% of the population is provided with a regular water supply, while in Europe this figure exceeds 95%. Some countries, despite the large reserves of fresh water, are experiencing a shortage associated with an increase in the consumption of reserves and pollution of the hydrosphere. For example, in China, 90% of the rivers are polluted, the same situation is observed in many regions of the world. The shortage of water is also increasing in major cities of the world: Paris, Tokyo, Mexico City, New York. According to the World Bank forecast, by 2035, 3 billion people may face water scarcity, especially those living in Africa, the Middle East or South Asia. According to Fortune magazine (2008), potable water supplies are worth $1 trillion a year, 40% of oil companies' profits.

Water scarcity fuels conflicts of varying intensity and scale. Despite the seeming locality of these conflicts, they have wider consequences such as displacement, mass migration, loss of livelihoods, social crisis and health risks. All of them leave their mark on the world community.

In table. 5.5 presents the renewable resources of the world.

The main directions of economic use of water resources of the world: drinking water supply; use of water for energy purposes; the use of water for technological needs by various industries, including in agriculture - for irrigation purposes; use of the water area of ​​water bodies by sea and river transport, extraction of aquatic biological resources and recreational purposes.

The world average annual withdrawal of water from rivers and underground sources is 600 m per person, of which

Renewable water resources of the world 1

Table 5.5

continent with islands			Share of total flow, %		Runoff, l / (s? km 2)	Population, people, 2012	Flow per capita, thousand m 3
Northern
Australia (from the island of Tasmania)
Antarctica
	Medium 451

• 1 Biofile. Scientific and informational journal. URL: http://biofile.ru/geo/61.html. Access mode - free.
• 50 m 3 is drinking water. At present, the average consumption of fresh water is about 630 m 3 per person per year, of which 2/3, or 420 m 3, is spent in agriculture for food production (145 m 3 - for household needs, 65 m 3 - for the production of industrial products). Per capita water consumption per day is 600 liters in North America and Japan, 250-350 liters in Europe and 10-20 liters in countries adjacent to the Sahara Desert. The structure of world water consumption and water consumption per person of water per day of some countries are shown in Fig. 5.7 and 5.8.

Rice. 5.7.

Rice. 5.8.

The highest water consumption compared to their own renewable water resources is typical for Kuwait (2075%), the United Arab Emirates (1867%), Libya (711.3%), Qatar (381%), Saudi Arabia (236.2%) , Yemen (161.1%), Egypt (94.69%)!.

According to UN estimates, if the current per capita water consumption continues, then by 2050 the use of world fresh water reserves alone due to population growth may increase to 70%. And if the average per capita water consumption continues to increase and the rate of pollution of its main sources continues, then by 2030 the use of the annual supply of fresh water will approach its limit.

Agriculture consumes up to 70% of the world's fresh water consumption (seven times more than world industry). Almost all of this volume is used for irrigation of irrigated land and only 2% for water supply to livestock, while more than half of the water used for irrigation evaporates or returns to rivers and groundwater 2 .

In table. 5.6 presents the consumption of water for the needs of agriculture in the world.

Table 5.6

Water consumption for agriculture 3

• 1 See: URL: http://www.priroda.su. Access mode - free.
• 2 Water resources and their impact on the state and prospects of regional land markets in the world (review compiled on the basis of data from the United Nations, UNESCO, the United States Agency for International Development, the International Institute for Water Resources Management) // Information and analytical service of the Federal Portal "Land Market Indicators". URL: http://www.land-in.ru, April 2008. Access mode - free.
• 3 Federal portal "Indicators of the land market". URL: http:// www. land-in.ru. Access mode - free.

Crop and livestock production, which produce food, are the main consumers of water. An example of this is that in order to provide one inhabitant of the world with plant food (for its production), it is necessary to spend 350 m 3 of fresh water per person per year. And to provide the inhabitants of the planet with animal food (for food production), water consumption increases to 980 m 3 per person per year.

According to experts, by 2050 the need for food will increase by 70%. Global water consumption for agriculture will increase by about 19% and affect almost 90% of the world's fresh water resources.

By data UN, to meet the growing demand for food until 2030, it is necessary to increase world food production by 60%, and water consumption for irrigation by 14%.

In China, India, Saudi Arabia, North Africa and the United States, due to excessive pumping of groundwater by diesel and electric pumps for agriculture, there is no replenishment of the pumped water. Every year, 160 billion tons of water is taken from underground water areas.

Water is essential for energy production. It is used for the production of hydroelectric power and for cooling units at thermal power plants and nuclear power plants (NPPs), and also participates in the development of tidal, wave and geothermal energy. For cooling power units, for example, for the operation of a thermal power plant with a capacity of 1 GW, 1.2-1.6 km 3 of water is used per year, and for the operation of a nuclear power plant of the same capacity - up to 3 km 3.

In the industrialized countries of the West, the use of water for cooling components and assemblies in production reaches 50% of the total mass of water supplied for its needs. Cooling of turbine generators of all types of thermal power plants in the world consumes about a third of the total annual water consumption of the world's industry. At the Davos Forum in 2009, it was noted that the demand for water for energy production will increase by 165% in the US and by 130% in the EU.

Industry consumes approximately 22% of the world's water: 59% in high-income countries and 8% in low-income countries. According to the UN, this average consumption will reach 24% by 2025, and the industry will consume 1170 km 3 of water per year. Water in production is used for various purposes. Despite the variety of technological processes, all types of industrial water consumption can be reduced to the following main categories of water use as a heat carrier, a solvent involved in the production of reagents; absorbing or transporting medium; one of the components in the composition of the products. The first three types of use account for the largest share (up to 90%) of all water consumed in industry. The most water-intensive industries, apart from agriculture and energy, are mining, metallurgical, chemical, pulp and paper, and food. The production of 1 ton of rubber requires 2500 m 3 of water, cellulose - 1500 m 3, synthetic fiber - 1000 m 3

In modern cities, water supply must satisfy a wide variety of needs. The consumption of water for the needs of industry and energy in cities exceeds the consumption of water by the population. Given this, one can see that the amount of water per person per day will be quite a significant figure: in Paris - 450 liters, in Moscow - 600, in New York - 600, in Washington - 700 and in Rome - 1000 liters. The actual consumption of water for drinking and household needs per person is much less and is, for example, 170 liters in London, 160 liters in Paris, 85 liters in Brussels, etc. An urban inhabitant of the planet spends on average about 150 liters per day for domestic needs, and a rural one - about 55 liters.

According to the Global Environment Center at the US Agency for International Development, by 2050 there will be only three or four countries that will not experience an acute crisis due to water shortages. Definitely, Russia will be among them.

2 Water resources and their impact on the state and prospects for the development of regional land markets in the world (review compiled on the basis of data from the UN, UNESCO, US Agency for International Development, International Institute for Water Resources Management). Information and Analytical Service of the Federal Portal "Land Market Indicators". URL: http://www.land-in.ru, April 2008.

Fourth World Water Development Report (WWDR4).

UNESCO-WWAP, 2012.

Yasinsky VL Mironenkov L. //., Sarsembekov TT Investment aspects of development of the regional water sector. Industry Review No. 12. Almaty: Eurasian Development Bank, 2011.

Seas and oceans are filled with water. It seems that there is quite a lot of water on Earth. But, in fact, the amount of water available for use is much less than all the water on Earth.

The value of water

Water is the basis and source of life on Earth. It occupies most of the planet, which is not surprising. After all, life arose in water, and only then spread to land and air. Both humans and animals are mostly made up of water. It is fresh water that is vital for man and all living creatures of the blue planet. And it makes up only 3% of all water reserves on Earth. The rest of the water, which is 97%, is salty and therefore undrinkable. Most of the fresh water supply is frozen in glaciers. This means that the amount of available fresh water is negligible compared to the total amount of water on the entire Earth. Therefore, it is so important to rationally use fresh water reserves.

The Importance of Rational Use

With rational use, the normal water cycle is maintained, and it is independently filtered. At the same time, the quantity and quality of fresh water remains at an optimal level. And thus, all living beings on the planet are provided with the necessary amount of water. And with the irrational use of water resources, the amount of water suitable for use becomes less and less, there is a shortage of water. The water becomes too polluted and unusable, and if it is purified, it is too slow.

Fresh water is also threatened by desiccation. Lakes and rivers dry up due to the general destruction of the ecosystem. Deforestation plays a significant role here. Forests should retain and purify water, and then gradually release it into natural reservoirs. Due to over-logging and forest fires, the amount of forest area on the planet is decreasing day by day. And this negatively affects the quantity and quality of drinking water. In turn, a decrease in the amount of clean water contributes to the impoverishment of flora and fauna. Increasingly, there is not enough water for people.

Water is the main element of the entire ecosystem of the Earth. The existence of life on Earth depends on the quantity and quality of fresh water. Widespread water pollution threatens the gradual disappearance of life on the planet. To improve the situation with the shortage of fresh water, it is necessary to carefully treat both the water itself and nature in general. The fate of the planet is in the hands of people. And it depends only on a person whether fresh water will be preserved on Earth, whether life itself will be preserved. It depends on the current generation whether future generations will have a chance to live, or whether they will be doomed to death.

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).

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, the consumption of fresh water in the world has doubled, and the planet's water resources do not meet such a rapid increase in human needs. According to the World Commission on Water, today every person needs 40 (20 to 50) liters of water daily for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.

However, about a billion people in 28 countries around the world do not have access to so many vital resources. More than 40% of the world's population (about 2.5 billion people) lives in areas experiencing moderate or severe water scarcity.

It is 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.

We bring to your attention the countries that have the largest reserves of fresh water:

10. 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.

Despite the relatively high absolute figures, the inhabitants of some areas of Myanmar suffer from a shortage of fresh water.

9. Venezuela

Resources - 1320 cubic meters. km

Per capita- 60.3 thousand cubic meters. m

Nearly half of Venezuela's more than 1,000 rivers run off the Andes and the Guiana Plateau into the Orinoco, Latin America's third largest river. 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

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.

However, given India's huge population, the per capita supply of fresh water is quite low.

7. Bangladesh

Resources - 2360 cubic meters. km

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

Resources - 2480 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.

However, despite the fact that the United States has such fresh water resources, this does not save California from the worst drought in history.

In addition, given the high population of the country, the supply of fresh water per capita is not so high.

5. Indonesia

Resources - 2530 cubic meters. km

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

Almost all of them flow from the Maoke Mountains north into the Pacific Ocean.

4. China

Resources - 2800 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.

The south of the country has been fighting for thousands of years and today is fighting floods, building and building dams to save crops and people's lives.

The north of the country and the central regions are suffering from lack of water.

3. Canada

Resources - 2900 cubic meters. km

Per capita- 98.5 thousand cubic meters. m

Canada has 7% of the world's renewable fresh water 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.

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.

Date: 2016-04-07

Life on our planet originated from water, the human body is 75% water, so the issue of fresh water reserves on the planet is very important. After all, water is the source and stimulus of our life.

Fresh water is considered to be water that contains no more than 0.1% salt.

At what, no matter what state it is in: liquid, solid or gaseous.

World fresh water reserves

97.2% of the water that is on planet earth belongs to salty oceans and seas. And only 2.8% is fresh water. On the planet it is distributed as follows:

• 2.15% of the water reserves are frozen in the mountains, icebergs and ice sheets of Antarctica;
• 0.001% of water reserves are in the atmosphere;
• 0.65% of water reserves are in rivers and lakes.

  From here it is taken by a person for his consumption.

In general, it is believed that the sources of fresh water are endless. Since the process of self-healing is constantly taking place as a result of the water cycle in nature. Every year, as a result of the evaporation of moisture from the oceans, a huge supply of fresh water (about 525,000 km3) is formed in the form of clouds.

A small part of it still ends up in the ocean, but most of it falls on the continents in the form of snow and rain, and then ends up in lakes, rivers and groundwater.

Fresh water consumption in different parts of the world

Even such a small percentage of available fresh water could cover all the needs of mankind if its reserves were evenly distributed over the planet, but this is not so.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has identified several areas whose water consumption exceeds the amount of renewable water resources:

• Arabian Peninsula.

  For public needs, five times more fresh water is used here than is available in available natural sources. Water is exported here with the help of tankers and pipelines, sea water desalination procedures are carried out.

• Under stress are water resources in Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

  Almost 100% of renewable water resources are consumed here. More than 70% of renewable water resources are produced by Iran.

• Fresh water problems also exist in North Africa, especially in Libya and Egypt. These countries use almost 50% of water resources.

The greatest need is experienced not by those countries where there are frequent droughts, but by those with a high population density.

World fresh water market

You can see this using the table below. For example, Asia has the largest area of ​​water resources and Australia the smallest. But, at the same time, every inhabitant of Australia is provided with drinking water 14 times better than any inhabitant of Asia.

And all because the population of Asia is 3.7 billion, while only 30 million live in Australia.

Problems in the use of fresh water

Over the past 40 years, the amount of clean fresh water per person has decreased by 60%.

Agriculture is the biggest consumer of fresh water. Today, this sector of the economy consumes almost 85% of the total volume of fresh water used by humans. Products grown with artificial irrigation are much more expensive than those grown on soil and irrigated by rain.

More than 80 countries of the world are experiencing a shortage of fresh water.

And every day this problem is getting worse. Water scarcity even causes humanitarian and state conflicts. Improper use of groundwater leads to a decrease in their volume. These reserves are depleted annually from 0.1% to 0.3%. Moreover, in poor countries, 95% of the water cannot be used for drinking or food at all due to the high level of pollution.

The need for clean drinking water is increasing every year, but its quantity, on the contrary, is only decreasing.

Nearly 2 billion people have limited water intake. According to experts, by 2025, almost 50 countries of the world, where the number of inhabitants will exceed 3 billion people, will feel the problem of water shortage.

In China, despite high rainfall, half of the population does not have regular access to sufficient drinking water.

Groundwater, like the soil itself, is renewed too slowly (about 1% per year).

The issue of the greenhouse effect remains relevant. The climate of the Earth is constantly deteriorating due to the constant release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This causes an anomalous redistribution of precipitation, the occurrence of droughts in countries where they should not be, snowfall in Africa, high frosts in Italy or Spain.

Such anomalous changes can cause a decrease in crop yields, an increase in plant diseases, and the reproduction of pest populations and various insects.

The planet's ecosystem is losing its stability and cannot adapt to such a rapid change in conditions.

Instead of totals

In the end, we can say that there are enough water resources on planet Earth. The main problem of water supply is that these reserves are unevenly distributed on the planet. Moreover, 3/4 of fresh water reserves are in the form of glaciers, which are very difficult to access.

Because of this, in some regions there is already a shortage of fresh water.

The second problem is the contamination of existing available water sources with human waste products (heavy metal salts, oil refinery products). Pure water that can be consumed without prior purification can only be found in remote ecologically clean areas. But densely populated regions, on the contrary, suffer from the inability to drink water from their meager reserves.

Back to Water Resources

The countries of the world are provided with water resources extremely unevenly.

The following countries are the most endowed with water resources: Brazil (8,233 km3), Russia (4,508 km3), USA (3,051 km3), Canada (2,902 km3), Indonesia (2,838 km3), China (2,830 km3), Colombia (2,132 km3), Peru (1,913 km3), India (1,880 km3), Congo (1,283 km3), Venezuela (1,233 km3), Bangladesh (1,211 km3), Burma (1,046 km3).

Most water resources per capita are in French Guiana (609,091 m3), Iceland (539,638 m3), Guyana (315,858 m3), Suriname (236,893 m3), Congo (230,125 m3), 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 (43,8463), Panama (43,502 m3) , Brazil (42,866 m3), Uruguay (41,505 m3), Nicaragua (34,710 m3), Fiji (33,827 m3), Central African Republic (33,280 m3), Russia (31,833 m3).

The least per capita water resources are in Kuwait (6.85 m3), the United Arab Emirates (33.44 m3), Qatar (45.28 m3), the Bahamas (59.17 m3), Oman (91.63 m3), Saudi Arabia (95.23 m3), Libya (3,366.19 ft).

On average on Earth, each person has 24,646 m3 (24,650,000 liters) of water per year.

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? Let's take for example the largest tributary of the Ob - the Irtysh (part of the flow of which they wanted to transfer to the Aral Sea). The source of the Irtysh is located on the border of Mongolia and China, then the river flows for more than 500 km through the territory of China, 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.

Which country owns 20% of all fresh water on earth?

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 from the territories of neighboring countries at all; 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%).

Now let's try to do some calculations, but first let's rank countries by water resources:

5.

10.

Congo (1,283 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 29.9%)
11. Venezuela (1,233 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 41.4%)

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 abstraction by countries located upstream:

Brazil (5,417 km3)
2. Russia (4,314 km3)
3. Canada (2,850 km3)
4. Indonesia (2,838 km3)
5. China (2,813 km3)
6. USA (2,801 km3)
7. Colombia (2,113 km3)
8.

Peru (1,617 km3)
9. India (1,252 km3)
10. Burma (881 km3)
11. Congo (834 km3)
12. Venezuela (723 km3)
13.

Bangladesh (105 km3)

Below is a map of the world's fresh groundwater resources. Blue areas on the map are areas rich in groundwater, brown areas are areas where there is a shortage of groundwater.

In arid countries, water is almost completely taken from underground sources (Morocco - 75%, Tunisia - 95%, Saudi Arabia and Malta - 100%).

In Equatorial and South Africa, groundwater is doing much better. Torrential tropical rains contribute to the rapid restoration of groundwater reserves.

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The countries of the world are provided with water resources extremely unevenly. The following countries are the most endowed with water resources: Brazil (8,233 km3), Russia (4,508 km3), USA (3,051 km3), Canada (2,902 km3), Indonesia (2,838 km3), China (2,830 km3), Colombia (2,132 km3), Peru (1,913 km3), India (1,880 km3), Congo (1,283 km3), Venezuela (1,233 km3), Bangladesh (1,211 km3), Burma (1,046 km3).

The volume of water resources per capita by country (m3 per year per capita)

Most water resources per capita are in French Guiana (), Iceland (), Guyana (), Suriname (), Congo (), Papua New Guinea (), Gabon (), Bhutan (), Canada (), Norway ( ), New Zealand (), Peru (), Bolivia (), Liberia (), Chile (), Paraguay (), Laos (), Colombia (), Venezuela (43 8463), Panama (), Brazil (), Uruguay (), Nicaragua (), Fiji (), Central African Republic (), Russia ().

Note!!!
The least water resources per capita are in Kuwait (), the United Arab Emirates (), Qatar (), the Bahamas (), Oman (), Saudi Arabia (), Libya ().

On average on Earth, each person has () water per year.

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? Let's take for example the largest tributary of the Ob - the Irtysh (part of the flow of which they wanted to transfer to the Aral Sea).

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, crosses the state border and flows around the territory of Kazakhstan, then the Irtysh flows around 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 full flow of the Russian section of the Irtysh (including hydropower resources). At present, China annually deprives Russia of 2 billion km3 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.

Share of transboundary runoff in the total annual runoff of rivers in the countries of 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:

Brazil (8,233 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 34.2%)
2. Russia (4,508 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 4.3%)
3. USA (3,051 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 8.2%)
4. Canada (2,902 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 1.8%)
5.

Indonesia (2,838 km3) — (Share of transboundary flow: 0%)
6. China (2,830 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 0.6%)
7. Colombia (2,132 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 0.9%)
8. Peru (1,913 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 15.5%)
9. India (1,880 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 33.4%)
10. Congo (1,283 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 29.9%)
11.

Venezuela (1,233 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 41.4%)
12. Bangladesh (1,211 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 91.3%)
13. Burma (1,046 km3) - (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.

Brazil (5,417 km3)
2. Russia (4,314 km3)
3. Canada (2,850 km3)
4. Indonesia (2,838 km3)
5. China (2,813 km3)
6.

USA (2,801 km3)
7. Colombia (2,113 km3)
8. Peru (1,617 km3)
9. India (1,252 km3)
10. Burma (881 km3)
11. Congo (834 km3)
12. Venezuela (723 km3)
13. Bangladesh (105 km3)

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.
Significant changes in river flow are caused by deforestation, agricultural activities, and global climate change.

Below is a map of the world's fresh groundwater resources.

Blue areas on the map are areas rich in groundwater, brown areas are areas where there is a shortage of groundwater.

Countries with large reserves of groundwater include Russia, Brazil, as well as a number of equatorial African countries.

Note!!!
The scarcity of clean, fresh surface water is forcing many countries to make greater use of groundwater.

In the European Union, already 70% of all water used by water users is taken from underground aquifers.
In arid countries, water is almost completely taken from underground sources (Morocco - 75%, Tunisia - 95%, Saudi Arabia and Malta - 100%)

Underground aquifers occur everywhere, but they are not renewable everywhere. So in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, they were filled with water about 10,000 years ago, when the climate here was more humid.
In Equatorial and South Africa, groundwater is doing much better.

Torrential tropical rains contribute to the rapid restoration of groundwater reserves.

19. World water resources

The concept of water resources can be interpreted in two senses - broad and narrow.

In a broad sense, this is the entire volume of hydrosphere water contained in rivers, lakes, glaciers, seas and oceans, as well as in underground horizons and in the atmosphere.

The definitions of huge, inexhaustible are quite applicable to it, and this is not surprising. After all, the World Ocean occupies 361 million km2 (about 71% of the total area of ​​the planet), and glaciers, lakes, reservoirs, swamps, rivers account for another 20 million km2 (15%). As a result, the total volume of the hydrosphere is estimated at 1390 million km3. It is easy to calculate that with such a total volume, there is now approximately 210 million m3 of water per inhabitant of the Earth. This amount would be enough to supply a large city for a whole year!

However, it is necessary to take into account the possibilities of using these huge resources.

Indeed, out of the total volume of water contained in the hydrosphere, 96.4% falls on the share of the World Ocean, and of the land water bodies, the largest amount of water contains glaciers (1.86%) and groundwater (1.68%), the use of which is possible, but more partly very difficult.

That is why, when they talk about water resources in the narrow sense of the word, they mean usable fresh waters, which make up only 2.5% of the total volume of all waters in the hydrosphere.

However, significant adjustments have to be made to this indicator. It is impossible not to take into account the fact that almost all fresh water resources are “mothballed” either in the glaciers of Antarctica, Greenland, mountainous regions, in the ice of the Arctic, or in groundwater and ice, the use of which is still very limited.

Lakes and reservoirs are used much more widely, but their geographical distribution is by no means ubiquitous. It follows from this that the main source of meeting the needs of mankind in fresh water has been and remains river (channel) water, the share of which is extremely small, and the total volume is only 2100 km3.

Such an amount of fresh water would already be lacking for people to live.

However, due to the fact that the duration of the conditional moisture cycle for rivers is 16 days, during the year the volume of water in them is renewed on average 23 times and, therefore, the resources of river runoff can be estimated purely arithmetically at 48 thousand m3.

km3/year. However, the figure of 41 thousand km3/year prevails in the literature. It characterizes the “water ration” of the planet, but reservations are also needed here. It should be taken into account that more than half of the channel waters flow into the sea, so that the resources of such waters actually available for use, according to some estimates, do not exceed 15 thousand m3.

If we consider how the total river runoff is distributed among large regions of the world, it turns out that foreign Asia accounts for 11 thousand tons of water.

km3, to South America - 10.5, to North America - 7, to the CIS countries - 5.3, to Africa - 4.2, to Australia and Oceania - 1.6 and to foreign Europe - 1.4 thousand km3 . It is clear that behind these indicators are primarily the largest river systems in terms of runoff: in Asia - the Yangtze, the Ganges and the Brahmaputras, in South America - the Amazon, Orinoco, Parana, in North America - the Mississippi, in the CIS - the Yenisei, Lena, in Africa Kongo, Zambezi.

This fully applies not only to regions, but also to individual countries (Table 23).

Table 23

TOP TEN COUNTRIES BY FRESHWATER RESOURCES

The figures characterizing water resources cannot yet give a complete picture of water availability, since the provision with total runoff is usually expressed in specific indicators - either per 1 km2 of the territory, or per inhabitant.

Such water availability of the world and its regions is shown in Figure 19. An analysis of this figure suggests that with an average world indicator of 8000 m3 / year, Australia and Oceania, South America, the CIS and North America have indicators above this level, and below - Africa, foreign Europe and overseas Asia.

This situation with the water supply of the regions is explained both by the total size of their water resources and by the size of their population. No less interesting is the analysis of differences in the water availability of individual countries (Table 24). Of the ten countries with the highest water availability, seven are within the equatorial, subequatorial and tropical zones, and only Canada, Norway and New Zealand are within the temperate and subarctic.

19. Availability of river runoff resources in major regions of the world, thousand m3/year

Table 24

COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST SUPPLY OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES

Although, according to the above per capita indicators of the water supply of the whole world, its individual regions and countries, it is quite possible to imagine its general picture, it would still be more correct to call such provision potential.

To imagine the real water supply, it is necessary to take into account the size of water intake, water consumption.

World water consumption in the twentieth century. increased as follows (in km3): 1900 - 580, 1940 - 820, 1950

- 1100, 1960 - 1900, 1970 - 2520, 1980 - 3200, 1990 - 3580, 2005 - 6000.

TOP-20 countries by fresh water reserves!

These general indicators of water consumption are very important: they indicate that during the 20th century. world water consumption increased by 6.8 times.

Already, almost 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. According to the UN forecast, universal access to such water can be achieved: in Asia - by 2025, in Africa - by 2050. The structure, i.e. the nature of water consumption, is no less important. Today, 70% of fresh water is consumed by agriculture, 20% by industry, and 10% is used to meet household needs. This ratio is quite understandable and natural, but from the point of view of saving water resources, it is rather unprofitable, primarily because it is in agriculture (especially in irrigated agriculture) that irretrievable water consumption is very high.

According to the available calculations, in 2000 irretrievable water consumption in the world's agriculture amounted to 2.5 thousand km3, while in industry and public utilities, where recycling water supply is more widely used, only 65 and 12 km3, respectively. From all that has been said, it follows, firstly, that today humanity already uses a fairly significant part of the “water ration” of the planet (about 1/10 of the total and more than 1/4 of the actually available) and, secondly, that the irretrievable loss of water is more than 1/2 of its total consumption.

It is no coincidence that the highest rates of per capita water consumption are characteristic of countries with irrigated agriculture.

The record holder here is Turkmenistan (7000 m3 per person per year). It is followed by Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan and others. All these countries are already experiencing a significant shortage of water resources.

In Russia, the total river runoff reaches 4.2 thousand km3/year, and, consequently, the availability of resources for this runoff per inhabitant is 29 thousand tons.

m3/year; This is not a record, but quite a high figure. Total fresh water intake in the second half of the 1990s due to the economic crisis had a tendency to some decrease.

In 2000, it was 80–85 km3.

The structure of water consumption in Russia is as follows: 56% goes to production, 21% to household and drinking needs, 17% to irrigation and agricultural water supply, and 6% to other needs.

The same applies to individual economic regions of the country. Thus, in the Central, Central Black Earth and Volga regions, water supply per inhabitant is only 3000-4000 m3/year, and in the Far East - 300 thousand m3.

The general trend for the whole world and its individual regions is a gradual decrease in water supply, therefore, different ways of saving water resources and new ways of water supply are being sought.