ВОДНОРЕСУРСНАЯ ЛОГИСТИКА: МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЕ АСПЕКТЫ

Abstract

The world crisis of water consumption predicted in the next decades requires the creation of institute of global inventory management of fresh water resources. In many areas of the Earth their shortcoming already became now a factor of deterioration in an economic and socio-political situation. Deficit of water suitable for use in these regions in many cases causes shortage of food and emergence of uncontrollable mass migration of the population. At the same time, large volumes of fresh water on the planet are not used. Global warming and increase in many rivers’ streamflow ensures that the quantity of such potentially available water resources constantly increases. Liquidation of regional crises of water consumption and prevention of world crisis in this sphere are possible only on the basis of increased efficiency of world water consumption which can be estimated as a ratio between the amounts of available (now in use) and potentially available water resources. Creation of institute of global inventory management of fresh water will demand the formation of a system of interregional redistribution of water resources. The basis for it is the water resources logistics — a new cross-disciplinary direction of scientific and practical activities providing the complex solution of the social and economic, environmental and geopolitical problems connected with resource shortage of fresh water. The water resources logistics must provide optimum ways of large-scale interregional water transfers. The related tasks are the development of the international rules of these activities and the minimization of environmental damage. The material basis of water resources logistics is presented by the hydro technical systems created for inter-basin (inter-regional) redistribution of river flows (river flows transfer). This activity acquires the increasing scale. Now, more than 200 hydro technical systems function over inter-basin redistribution of river flows. Their productivity is about 600 km3/year. Besides, in various countries another 79 similar projects are developed. Their implementation will increase amount of inter-regional water transfer up to 1000 km3/year. The countries supporting these activities will become leaders in the emerging international market of water resources and will strengthen their geopolitical influence.&nbsp