The lake fund’s current status and problems in asian Russia

Abstract

This paper presents results of the Asian part of Russias (APR) quantitative assessment of the lake fund, with its uneven territorial distribution taken into account. Within the APR, about 3.2 million water bodies exist, enclosing 25,175 km3. More than half of all water bodies are in the Ural Federal District, while the bulk of the water is concentrated in the lakes of the Far Eastern and Siberian Federal Districts. At the current population level, most of Russian Asia is well supplied with water resources; only in three Federation districts does water availability not exceed 10 thousand m3per person, per year. However, in conditions of insufficient moisture, even increased water availability does not guarantee absence of water resources shortage, especially during years of low water content. The low quality of waters available for use further complicates the situation. The authors analyzed information on environmental changes occurring in lakes water resources during the latter 20thand early 21stcenturies, presenting assessment results of trophicity and of quality of lakes water masses in three federal districts. The main problems associated with negative changes in the APR lake ecosystems, influenced by anthropogenic activities and requiring quick solutions, are described.