Abstract
Groundwater resources at all times have provided and continue to provide a significant impact on the economic, social, and often political activities of any state, especially if the reserves of this strategic resource are limited. Coordinated groundwater resources management is one of the main conditions for the sustainable development of countries’ transboundary basins, affecting all aspects of human activity, including water supply, agriculture, industry, hydropower, water transport, environment, and the very quality of human life. Modern international trends in the field of transboundary groundwater resources management is undergoing significant changes. This article dwells upon the features of groundwater as a mineral, the structure of state groundwater management in the Russian Federation, the regulation of transboundary groundwater use, and protection at the international and domestic levels are analyzed. The system of management of the transboundary aquifers of Kazakhstan and Belarus is considered in more detail. The unitization approach used for coordinated development of oil and gas fields can, to some extent, serve as a model for managing common groundwater aquifers located on the border of neighboring states. Dogmatic and comparative legal methods consisting of analyzing the applicable legal regulations on the use and protection of groundwater were used. Several recommendations for improving the system of state sustainable management of groundwater resources at the global level are proposed.
Highlights
Over the past century, the population of the Earth has tripled, while the volume of water resources withdrawal during the same time increased more than six times and reached almost 4000 cubic kilometers per year
The regional hydrogeological structure of the Russian Federation on the borders with the former republics of the USSR is characterized by the presence of several transboundary aquifers on the borders with Kazakhstan, Estonia, Belarus, and Ukraine
According to long-term data of hydrogeological and hydrological monitoring, the percentage of transboundary water bodies in the territories of the countries sounded, which is regulated by cooperation agreements with other countries, including the Russian
Summary
The population of the Earth has tripled, while the volume of water resources withdrawal during the same time increased more than six times and reached almost 4000 cubic kilometers per year. According to the UN, as a result of unreasonable exploitation of resources and environmental changes, almost a fifth of the world’s population does not have access to safe sources of drinking water, and around 40% of the world’s population does not have basic sanitary conditions [1]. More than 80 countries in the world are experiencing serious water shortages. To even out this imbalance, technological, engineering, and economic solutions are used, such as the construction of hydraulic structures for the purification, desalination, transportation, and storage of water, the import of water-intensive products and electricity, and direct supplies of bottled water [1]. The problems of the water industry of any country can be conditionally divided into legal, regulatory, technical, financial, personnel, and environmental problems. This article provides an analysis of the problems of state regulation of groundwater use on the example of the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, and Belarus
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
