To solve the problem of providing the Earth's inhabitants with water resources, it is necessary to radically reconsider the ways and means of using the hydrosphere, use water resources more economically and carefully protect water bodies from pollution, which is most often associated with human economic activity.
Scientists identify hydrological-geographical and technical methods for solving the water problem.
The primary technical task is to reduce discharge volumes Wastewater into reservoirs and the introduction of recycled water supply at enterprises, built on closed cycles. A number of industrial enterprises and municipal services are faced with the urgent task of using part of the runoff for irrigating crop areas after appropriate treatment. Such technologies are being developed very actively today.
One way to get rid of the shortage of water suitable for drinking and cooking is to introduce a saving mode water resources. For this purpose, household and industrial systems for controlling water consumption are being developed, which can significantly reduce its unreasonable consumption. Such control systems help not only to save valuable resources, but also to reduce the financial expenses of the population on this type of public services.
The most technologically advanced states are developing new ways of conducting economic activity and production methods that make it possible to get rid of technical water consumption or at least reduce the consumption of water resources. An example is the transition from systems to air, as well as the introduction of a method of smelting metals without blast furnaces and open hearths, invented in Japan.
Hydrological-geographical methods
Hydrological-geographical methods consist of managing the circulation of water resources on the scale of entire regions and purposefully changing the water balance of large land areas. However, we are not yet talking about an absolute increase in the volume of water resources.
The goal of this approach is the reproduction of water by maintaining sustainable flow, creating groundwater reserves, increasing the share of soil moisture through the use of flood waters and natural glaciers.
Hydrologists are developing methods to regulate the flow of large rivers. Measures are also being planned to accumulate moisture in underground wells, which could eventually turn into large reservoirs. It is quite possible to drain waste and thoroughly purified process water into such tanks.
The advantage of this method is that with it, water, passing through the layers of soil, is additionally purified. In areas where stable snow cover has been observed for a long period, snow retention work is possible, which also makes it possible to resolve the issue of water availability.
Water is the most important resource for supporting life and the source of all life on Earth, but its uneven distribution across continents has more than once become the cause of crises and social disasters. The shortage of fresh drinking water in the world has been known to mankind since ancient times, and since the last decade of the twentieth century it has been constantly considered as one of the global problems modernity. At the same time, as the population of our planet grew, the scale of water consumption, and, accordingly, water deficiency, increased significantly, which subsequently began to lead to deteriorating living conditions and slowed down the economic development of countries experiencing shortages.
Today, the world's population is growing at a rapid pace, and the need for fresh drinking water is only increasing. According to the counter www.countrymeters.com, the world's population as of April 25, 2015 reached approximately 7 billion 289 million people, and the annual increase is approximately 83 million people. Data indicate an annual increase in fresh water demand of 64 million cubic meters. It should be noted that during the period of time when the world's population tripled, the use of fresh water increased 17 times. Moreover, according to some forecasts, in 20 years it may increase threefold.
Under current conditions, it has been established that already every sixth person on the planet experiences a shortage of fresh drinking water. And the situation will only get worse as urbanization develops, population grows, industrial demands for water increase, and global climate change accelerates, leading to desertification and decreased water availability. Water shortages may soon lead to the development and aggravation of already existing global problems. And when the deficit crosses a certain threshold and humanity finally understands the full value of fresh resources, we can expect political instability, armed conflicts and a further increase in the number of problems in the development of the economies of the world.
General picture of water availability in the world
In short, it is very important to realistically imagine the overall picture of fresh water supply in the world. The quantitative ratio of salt water to fresh water in terms of volume most clearly shows the complexity of the current situation. According to statistics, the world's oceans account for 96.5% of the water mass, and the volume of fresh water is much smaller - 3.5% of the total water reserves. It was previously noted that the distribution of fresh drinking water across continents and countries of the world is extremely uneven. This fact initially placed the countries of the world in different conditions, not only in terms of the provision of non-renewable resources, but also in terms of quality of life and ability to survive. Taking into account this and its economic security, each country copes with the problem in its own way, but fresh water is a fundamentally important resource for human life, and therefore, both poor, sparsely populated countries and rich, developed economies are to a certain extent equal in facing water shortages. 
Consequences of fresh water shortage
According to statistics, almost a fifth of the world's population lives in areas where there is an acute shortage of drinking water. In addition, one quarter of the population lives in developing countries, which suffer from shortages due to the lack of infrastructure needed to collect water from aquifers and rivers. Water shortages for the same reasons are observed even in those areas that receive heavy precipitation and have large reserves of fresh water.
The availability of sufficient water to meet the needs of households, agriculture, industry and the environment depends on how water is stored, distributed and used, as well as on the quality of the water available.
One of the main problems is the problem of fresh water pollution, which significantly reduces existing supplies. This is facilitated by pollution from industrial emissions and runoff, the washing of fertilizers from fields, as well as the penetration of salt water in coastal zones into aquifers due to pumping of groundwater.
Speaking about the consequences of a lack of fresh water, it is worth noting that they can be of various types: from deterioration of living conditions and the development of diseases, up to dehydration and death. Flaw clean water forces people to drink water from unsafe sources, which is often simply hazardous to health. In addition, due to water shortages, there is a negative practice of people storing water in their homes, which can significantly increase the risk of contamination and create favorable conditions for the proliferation of harmful bacteria. In addition, one of the acute problems is the problem of hygiene. People cannot bathe properly, wash their clothes or keep their homes clean. 
Exist various ways solutions to this problem, and in this aspect, countries with large reserves have enormous opportunities to benefit from their position. However, at the moment, the full value of fresh water has not yet translated into global economic mechanisms, and generally work most effectively in in this direction countries with fresh water shortages. We consider it necessary to highlight the most interesting projects and their results.
For example, in Egypt the most ambitious of all national projects is being implemented - “Toshka” or “New Valley”. Construction has been ongoing for 5 years and is scheduled for completion by 2017. The work is very costly for the country's economy, but the prospects seem truly global. The station under construction will redirect 10% of Nile water to the western regions of the country, and the area of habitable land in Egypt will increase by as much as 25%. Moreover, 2.8 million new jobs will be created and more than 16 million people will be relocated to the new planned cities. If this ambitious project succeeds, Egypt will once again flourish as a developed power with a rapidly growing population.
There is another example of an actively developing water infrastructure in the absence of its own resources. Various ways to combat the water crisis among the Gulf countries have become possible since the mid-20th century thanks to the oil boom. Expensive water desalination plants began to be built, and as a result, this moment Saudi Arabia and the UAE are distinguished by the most significant volumes of water desalination not only in the region, but also in the world. According to Arab News, Saudi Arabia uses 1.5 million barrels of oil daily in its desalination plants, which provide 50-70% of the country's fresh water. In April 2014, the world's largest plant, producing 1 million cubic meters, opened in Saudi Arabia. m of water and 2.6 thousand MW of electricity per day. In addition, all Gulf countries have developed treatment systems for the disposal and reuse of contaminated water. On average, the percentage of wastewater collection varies from 15% to 70% depending on the region; Bahrain demonstrates the highest rates (100%). When it comes to the use of treated wastewater, Oman (100% of collected water is reused) and the UAE (89%) are the leaders.
Over the next five years, the Gulf countries plan to invest about $100 billion in further providing their population with fresh resources. Thus, Qatar announced the allocation of $900 million for the construction of reservoirs for storing a seven-day supply of water by 2017. Moreover, the GCC countries agreed to build a pipeline costing $10.5 billion and spanning almost 2,000 km connecting the Gulf countries. The project also includes the construction of two desalination plants in Oman to produce 500 million cubic meters. m of water, which will be supplied via pipeline to GCC regions in need of desalinated water. As we see, the efforts aimed at combating the problem in countries with severe fresh water shortages are enormous. 
Among the leading countries, not many efforts are currently being made in this area. As often happens, while there is no problem, it seems that there is no need to pay attention to the factors that could lead to its formation. So, in Russian Federation, while it ranks second in the world in terms of water resources, there are still water shortages in many regions due to its uneven distribution. We have suggested several measures that will help improve the internal situation of the leading countries and further economic enrichment.
First of all, it is necessary to ensure stable financial support for the water sector in the country. To do this, it is necessary to form an economic mechanism for water use at the national and interstate levels. Financing the water sector from various sources should cover its costs, taking into account the prospects for further development.
At the same time, targeted social protection of the population must be ensured. The widespread involvement of private enterprise in solving problems in the water sector with appropriate incentives is of great importance. Progress in water finance will be facilitated by governmental support producers of relevant material resources and owners of water supply and sanitation systems through subsidies, subventions, preferential loans, customs and tax benefits.
Attention should also be paid to training staff in modern innovative technologies to increase the attractiveness of water and environmental projects for international donors and taking measures to ensure the availability of loans - all this will also contribute to progress.
In addition, it is necessary to strengthen external financial assistance to needy regions of the world, for which it is advisable to assess the financial needs of each country with a breakdown by funding sources and areas (water supply, sanitation, irrigation, hydropower, mudflow protection, recreation, etc.). Much work will be required to develop innovative financial mechanisms. For example, both domestic and international donor programs could be developed that invest in human development and assistance to those in need of fresh water, and which will help provide future confidence to leading countries to develop economic mechanisms for fresh water provision. .
Expert forecasts
According to forecasts, supplies of fresh drinking water are far from unlimited, and they are already running out. According to research, by 2025, more than half of the world's countries will either experience a serious water shortage or experience a lack of it, and by the middle of the 21st century, three-quarters of the world's population will not have enough fresh water. It is estimated that around 2030, 47% of the world's population will be at risk of water scarcity. At the same time, by 2050, the population of developing countries, which already lack water today, will increase significantly.
Africa is most likely to be the first to be left without water. South Asia, Middle East and Northern China. In Africa alone, it is predicted that by 2020, 75 to 250 million people will be in this situation due to climate change, and acute water shortages in desert and semi-desert regions will cause rapid population migration. This is expected to affect between 24 and 700 million people.
Lack of fresh water in Lately Developed countries are also feeling it: not long ago, severe droughts in the United States led to water shortages in large areas of the Southwest and in cities in northern Georgia. 
As a result, based on all of the above, we understand that it is necessary to make as much effort as possible to preserve sources of fresh water, as well as to search for possible economically less costly ways to solve the problem of fresh water shortage in many countries of the world, both now and in the past. future.
– river flow. Its defining value is its constant renewal. Great importance have water reserves in lakes and, in addition, . Our country has significant reserves. At the same time, per unit area, the provision of the territory of Russia with a runoff layer is almost 2 times lower than the world average. However, the water problem in our country is caused not so much by the general shortage of water resources, but by the natural characteristics of the objects, as well as the characteristics of human activity.
Uneven distribution of water resources
Most of Russia's water resources (9/10) are concentrated in the and basins, where less than 1/5 of the country's population lives. At the same time, most of the country’s economic potential is concentrated in the Black basins, and, to a lesser extent, the. These territories account for less than 10% and here the shortage of water resources is most clearly manifested.
Seasonal fluctuations in river flow
In Russia, constant monitoring of the quality of surface and groundwater is carried out. There are about 4.5 thousand special tracking points at 1,300 water bodies. Despite this, the water quality in most rivers, lakes and reservoirs does not meet the relevant standards. A significant portion of pollutants enters rivers and lakes with precipitation and melted snow water. They carry particles of dust, salt, petroleum products, mineral fertilizers, and pesticides from fields and city streets. In addition, about 60 cubic meters are discharged into reservoirs annually. km of wastewater without the proper degree of treatment. They also contain a huge amount of harmful substances. Water in everyone largest rivers Russia - the Volga, Don, Ob, Yenisei - is assessed as “polluted”, and in some of their tributaries as “very polluted”. At the same time, the degree of river pollution increases from the upper reaches to the lower reaches. For some consumers of water resources (river transport, electric power), the quality of consumed water is not of decisive importance. But in most cases, it is the quality of water that limits its use. Of particular concern is that more than half of the Russian population is forced to drink contaminated water.
2) energy resources in the form of ebbs and flows are used with the help of tidal power plants (in 1967, the world's first tidal power station was built in France). Russia also has such a power plant, built in Soviet times. The total power of tides on the planet is estimated from 1 to 6 billion kWh, which exceeds the energy of all the rivers of the globe. The energy of sea currents is used using wave power plants;
3) biological resources - the biomass of the World Ocean includes 140 thousand species of fish, mammals, mollusks, crustaceans and plants. There are only over 1 billion tons of fish, mammals, squid, and shrimp in the ocean (World Ocean). World production of fish and seafood reaches 110 million tons per year. These resources of the World Ocean are replenished by artificial breeding of fish and seafood in the amount of 30 million tons.
The transport importance of the World Ocean is very great - it “serves” about 4–5% of all international trade. The number of large and medium-sized seaports on all seas and oceans exceeds 2.5 thousand.
The problem is global environmental change in the waters of the World Ocean. The ocean is “sick” because 1 million tons of oil enter it annually (from accidents of tankers and drilling platforms, draining oil from polluted ships), as well as industrial waste - heavy metals, radioactive waste in containers, etc. More than 10 thousand tourist ships throwing sewage into the sea without treatment.
Ways to solve environmental problems of the World Ocean:
1) a system of environmental, technical and social measures simultaneously;
2) international agreements on the World Ocean, because a dead ocean (without fish and seafood suitable for consumption) is not needed by humanity.
Differences between countries of the world in terms of resource base
The countries are distinguished:
1) with a rich resource base;
2) with a limited resource base.
Russia, USA, China, India, Brazil, Australia are countries with a rich resource base. Japan, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Germany, etc. are countries with a limited resource base. Countries with a limited resource base have to spend a lot of foreign exchange on purchasing and transporting raw materials. But, despite the limited resource base, Japan, Italy, Great Britain, Germany, France have achieved a high level of economic and social development thanks to the use of resource-saving, highly efficient technologies in industrial and economic complexes, with a large share waste-free production. Many of the above countries purchase ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal from Russia in large volumes. Japan, for example, has been purchasing wood chips from Russia for many years from logging operations in Eastern Siberia and on Far East, as well as cheap metal products for melting down.
Modern environmental problems. The reasons for their occurrence and possible solutions
To modern environmental problems include:
1) shortage of mineral resources;
2) depletion of biological resources;
3) desertification.
Over the past 30 years, the world has used as many natural resources as in the entire previous history of mankind.
In this regard, there was a threat of depletion and even exhaustion of resources, primarily mineral and biological. At the same time, as a result of the active economic activity of mankind, the scale of waste returning to nature has sharply increased, which has caused the threat of global pollution of the entire planet - the atmosphere, the World Ocean, the hydrosphere in general, the lithosphere (the land surface itself, including groundwater.) According to scientists, for each Every inhabitant of the planet produces (relatively) 200 kg of waste per year, and the total amount is about 100 billion tons.
All of the above problems are due to the following reasons:
1) the arms race for many years in the main large countries that are members of the NATO bloc and were part of the Warsaw Pact organization until the 90s. XX century;
2) the growth of cities in area and number in countries with a constant significant increase in the total population (China, India, etc.).
As a result of the irrational use of agricultural land, especially pastures near deserts, their area expands - desertification. Anthropogenic desertification has affected more than 900 million hectares - in Asia, Africa, North and South America, Australia. The main cause of desertification is global warming.
Significant losses of biological resources, in particular forest resources, occur annually from fires in different countries of the world, especially in Russia.
The following ways to solve the above problems are possible:
1) general limitation of the arms race, which consumes a significant amount of mineral resources;
2) introduction of resource-saving, waste-free technologies in all industries of the world;
3) use of all unavoidable waste in various economic complexes (for building materials, road construction, etc.);
4) uniting the efforts of all countries of the world to solve a set of resource and environmental problems (for example, the Kyoto Agreement, which limits the total amount of emissions into the atmosphere for each individual country);
5) expansion of the raw material base by attracting the resources of near space into economic activities, as well as the removal of “environmentally dirty” production facilities beyond the Earth (primarily to near-Earth orbits and to the surface of the Moon).
Final control tests on the topic “World Natural Resources and Environment”
Option I
1. Add: the relationship between the amount of reserves of natural resources and the amount of their use is called...
2. Exhaustible natural resources include:
a) mineral and water;
b) water and forest;
c) forest and mineral.
3. Most of the world's oil reserves are concentrated:
a) in the Northern Hemisphere;
b) in the Southern Hemisphere.
4. The size of arable land, per capita in the world as a whole:
a) increases;
b) does not change;
c) decreases.
5. Arrange lands in order of decreasing share of the world land fund:
a) forests and bushes;
c) meadows and pastures.
6. The main reason for the worsening water problem of humanity is:
a) uneven distribution of water resources across the planet;
c) water pollution.
7. Share of fresh water in world resources:
8. The main way to solve humanity’s water problem is:
a) reducing the water intensity of production processes;
b) transportation of icebergs from Antarctica;
c) desalination of sea water.
Option II
1. Complete: part of the earth’s nature with which humanity interacts in the process of its life activity at this stage of its development is called...
2. Exhaustible renewable resources include:
a) forest and fisheries;
b) fish and mineral;
c) mineral and forest.
3. Most of the world's gas reserves are concentrated:
a) in the Northern Hemisphere;
b) in the Southern Hemisphere.
4. The main reason for the decrease in agricultural land in the world is:
a) soil erosion;
b) waterlogging, salinization;
c) desertification.
5. Rank lands according to their increasing share of the world land fund:
a) forests and bushes;
b) cultivated lands (arable lands, gardens, plantations);
c) meadows and pastures.
6. Effective protection of soils from erosion is:
a) deforestation;
b) filling up ravines and gullies;
c) forest plantations.
7. The main reason for the water problem of humanity is:
a) water pollution;
b) growth in consumption with a constant volume of water resources;
c) uneven distribution of water resources across the planet.
8. Currently, the most intensively used of the resources of the World Ocean are:
a) aquatic;
b) biological;
c) mineral.
Test 3
World population
Option I
Vital indicators. Differences in indicators in countries with the 1st and 2nd types of population reproduction
Indicators of natural population movement are birth rate, death rate, natural increase - natural biological processes. The combination of these processes – fertility, mortality and natural increase – ensures the continuous renewal and change of human generations. Population growth depends on the nature of its reproduction.
Type 1 of population reproduction is simple, characterized by low rates of birth rate, death rate and natural increase. This type of reproduction prevails in the economically developed countries of Europe and North America.
Socio-economic reasons causing low birth rates:
1) high level of socio-economic development (income in families is increasing and the number of children is decreasing);
2) high level of urbanization - 75%, rapid income growth (in rural areas the birth rate is higher, in cities - lower);
3) change in the status of women, emancipation and the emergence of a new value system;
4) an increase in the proportion of older people - “aging of nations” (in Great Britain, France, Russia, etc.), a decrease in the number of young people;
5) consequences of wars and military conflicts, terrorism;
6) industrial injuries, man-made disasters - up to 250 thousand people die annually in road traffic accidents (in Europe and North America);
7) mortality from diseases (AIDS, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, etc.);
8) natural disasters (floods, earthquakes).
A narrowed type of reproduction is typical for countries with “zero” or close to natural growth. In a number of European countries - Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Hungary, Germany, Russia, the mortality rate exceeds the birth rate, i.e. depopulation, or a demographic crisis, a decrease in the country's population, is occurring.
In Russia in 1998, the birth rate was 8.6%, the mortality rate was 13.8%.
The 2nd type of population reproduction is expanded, it is characterized by high and very high fertility rates and natural increase and relatively low mortality rates (mainly in the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America).
Socio-economic reasons causing high birth rates:
1) low level of economic development, dominance of agriculture (developing countries);
2) low level of urbanization – 41% (in rural areas the birth rate is higher);
3) a unique social structure, religious customs that encourage large families;
4) servitude of women, early marriages;
5) use of the achievements of modern medicine to combat epidemic diseases, improve sanitary culture;
Due to the decrease in population mortality and especially child mortality, it is increasing average duration life. Back in the 19th century. it was equal in Europe to only 35 years; now it averages 68–70 years in North America and Europe, 50–55 in Latin America, 40–50 in Asia, and less than 40 in Africa. In the vast majority of countries in the world, the average life expectancy of women is longer than that of men. An increase in life expectancy leads to an increase in the proportion of the elderly population, i.e., the process of population aging occurs.
Population regulation - demographic policy
Demographic policy is a system of administrative, economic, propaganda and other measures with the help of which the state regulates the population in the direction it desires, influencing natural movement (primarily the birth rate). Demographic policy in countries of the first type of reproduction is aimed at increasing the birth rate. Examples of countries pursuing an active demographic policy are France or Japan, which have developed economic incentive measures such as:
1) one-time loans to newlyweds;
2) benefits at the birth of each child, monthly benefits for children;
3) paid parental leave, etc.
Demographic policy in countries of the second type of production is aimed at reducing the birth rate. For example, in India:
1) the national family planning program has been adopted;
2) the age of marriage has been raised: for men – 21 years, for women – 18 years;
3) mass voluntary sterilization of the population is carried out;
4) there is a political motto: “There are two of us, there are two of us.”
For example, in China:
1) a birth planning committee has been created;
2) a late age for marriage has been established: for men – 22 years, for women – 20 years;
3) there are monthly additional payments only for one child;
4) the political motto is promoted: “One family – one child.”
Largest language families in the world
The most numerous language families:
1) Indo-European - 150 peoples with a total population of 2.5 billion people (47% of the total population of the globe);
2) Sino-Tibetan - over 1 billion people (22% of the total population);
3) Afroasiatic – more than 250 million people (mostly Arabic speakers).
In addition, the largest language families include Austronesian (5% of the world's population), Semitic-Hamitic (4.4%), Dravidian (4%), and Bantu (3%). The 5 most common languages (Chinese, English, Hindi, Spanish, Russian) are spoken by over 40% of all humanity.
The number of most other families is much smaller.
The peoples of Russia are classified according to language as follows:
1) Indo-European family (Russians - 82%, Ukrainians - 3%, Belarusians - 1%);
2) Altai (Mongolian) - Buryats, Kalmyks;
3) Turkic - Tatars, Bashkirs;
4) Ural (Finno-Ugric) – Mordovians, Karelians;
5) Caucasian - Chechens, Ingush, etc.
In total, 130 peoples are identified in Russia.
The most common official languages in the world are:
1) English – in 80 countries (Great Britain, USA, Australia, India, New Zealand, etc.);
2) French (in more than 30 countries);
3) Spanish (in about 20 countries).
The wide prevalence of these languages is explained by the existence for many years of the colonial empires of England, France and Spain.
Population density in different regions of the world
The average population density of the Earth is 45 people per 1 km 2. In India, the average density is 326 people per 1 km2, China - 131, Indonesia - 116, USA - 30, Brazil - 20.
The Earth's population is distributed extremely unevenly - about 70% of all people live on 7% of the land, undeveloped lands occupy 15% of the land. Territories with the most favorable conditions are very densely populated. For example, in certain areas of East and South Asia the density reaches from 1500 to 2000 people per 1 km 2, and in industrial areas of Europe and the USA the average density is from 1000 to 1500 people per 1 km 2.
The unevenness of the Earth's population is most clearly manifested in the following comparisons: in Australia and Oceania the average density is 2 people per 1 km 2, in foreign Europe - 97 people per 1 km 2. In Europe, the lowest population density is in Iceland (2 people per 1 km 2), the highest is in the Netherlands (365 people per 1 km 2); in Asia, the lowest population density is in Mongolia (0.8 people per 1 km 2), the highest is in Bangladesh (about 500 people per 1 km 2). The amplitude of fluctuations within individual countries is even greater (from completely uninhabited territories to 2000 people per 1 km 2).
In Russia, the highest population density is in the Central region, in the Urals, in Kuzbass, the lowest is in the Far North. The average population density in Russia is 0.85 people per 1 km2.
Urbanization. Main features of this process
Urbanization is the growth of cities, an increase in the share of the urban population in a country, region, world, the emergence and development of more complex systems of cities and agglomerations. Urbanization is not only the historical process of increasing the growth of cities and urban populations, but also the widespread spread of urban lifestyles. Urbanization is one of the most important components of socio-economic development.
3 character traits modern process urbanization:
1) rapid growth of urban population, especially in less developed countries. On average, the world's urban population is increasing by 60 million people per year;
2) concentration of population and economy mainly in large cities. This is characterized by the growth of production, the development of science and education, and the satisfaction of the spiritual needs of people. At the beginning of the twentieth century. there were 360 large cities in the world, and at the end of the twentieth century. there were about 4000 of them. These are cities with a population of more than 1 million inhabitants;
3) “sprawling” of cities, expansion of their territory. Modern urbanization is especially characterized by the transition from a compact (“spot”) city to urban agglomerations - territorial concentrations of urban and rural populations around large city(capitals, important industrial and port centers).
The influence of migration on the size and distribution of the population, its cause
Migration is the movement of people between separate territories and settlements associated with a permanent, temporary or seasonal change of their place of residence. The main reason for migration is economic, but political, national, religious and other reasons play a significant role. The forms of migration are very diverse: every day hundreds of millions of people participate in pendulum (shuttle) work trips due to the large distance between their places of residence and work; the scope of seasonal movements associated with seasonal work, travel for recreation and treatment, tourism, as well as religious pilgrimages to holy places is great. Population migration is the main reason for the most important changes that have occurred in the settlement of people on Earth over the past centuries.
There are 2 types of population migration:
1) internal migration is the movement of the population from village to city, which in many countries is the source of their growth (it is often called the “great migration of peoples of the twentieth century”).
In addition, in a number of countries there is a migration of the population from small towns to large ones, due to searches for work, going to study at universities, etc. This type of migration is typical for Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Brazil, Australia, China and other developing countries.
In the most developed countries, in particular in the USA, “reverse” internal migrations predominate - from cities to suburbs, and partly to rural areas;
2) external migration - with a predominance of labor migration, forming the international labor market. By now, the main flows of international labor migration have emerged. External migration is divided into emigration (moving out) - the departure of citizens from their country to another for permanent residence or a more or less long term; and immigration (moving in) - the entry of citizens into another country for permanent residence or a more or less long term.
Currently, there is emigration of the population (labor and intellectuals, brain drain) from South, Southeast and East Asia, Latin America, North Africa and Russia (exit). Immigration - to the USA, Canada, Western Europe, Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Australia (entry). Special view migrations are flows of refugees associated with internal political and interethnic conflicts: from Afghanistan, the former SFRY (Yugoslavia), Iraq, and within the former Soviet Union.
The economically active population participates in all main types of migration. This inevitably leads to a deterioration in the economic and economic situation in the countries from which emigration comes (in the present and future), especially in Russia, where the demographic situation is critical and the main nation (the titular one) is depopulating.
Option II
Changes in the Earth's population. Population explosion
Throughout the twentieth century. There was a constant change in the population of the Earth towards an increase. If in 1900 the population of the entire world was 1 billion 656 million people, then in 1950 it was 2 billion 527 million, and in 2000 it was 6 billion 252 million. In short, from the 2nd half of the twentieth century. rapid population growth took on the character of a demographic explosion. There was significant population growth in foreign Asia - from 950 million people in 1900 to 3 billion 698 million in 2000, in Africa - from 130 million in 1900 to 872 million in 2000, in Latin America - from 64 million in 1900 to 540 million in 2000
The peak of the population explosion occurred in the 1970s. (average annual growth - 2%, or 20 people per 1000 inhabitants). Between 1985 and 1990 the increase was 1.7%; in 1995 – 1.5%. In other words, after 1970, population growth declined continuously. This happened thanks to birth planning in China and India. But the world population continues to grow, according to UN forecasts, in the 21st century. The world population will reach more than 10 billion people. Moreover, 90% of all world population growth occurs in developing countries.
Population explosion in the 60s and 70s. XX century is explained by a number of reasons: firstly, the improvement of the socio-economic situation in developing countries due to penetration into Asia, Africa and Latin America large capitalist companies from the leading countries of the world in pursuit of cheap mineral and labor resources. In developing countries, assembly plants were located (automobiles, motorcycles, household appliances), environmentally harmful chemical production. At the same time, the entire infrastructure with hospitals, clinics and other institutions, including cultural centers, was created.
The USSR and socialist countries also pursued a policy of comprehensive assistance to developing countries, ranging from military-technical to medical and cultural (P. Lumumba University was opened in Moscow for students from developing countries).
Krivoshey V.A., Doctor of Technical Sciences
Russia is one of the most water-rich countries in the world. On its territory there are over 2.5 million rivers, more than 2 million lakes and about 30 thousand reservoirs.
The total reserves of fresh water in Russia are estimated at 7770.6 km 3, of which 4270 km 3 is river flow.
Having such significant resources, a number of Russian territories are experiencing an acute shortage of water due to low quality and uneven distribution. The European part of Russia, where about 80% of the population and the main industrial potential is concentrated, accounts for only about 8% of the country's water resources. About 50% of the population consumes water that does not meet sanitary and hygienic requirements. In a number of cities, water is supplied to residential areas on a schedule with significant interruptions. At the same time, centralized water supply sources are not protected from pollution, and the technologies used do not ensure water treatment to meet regulatory requirements. For this reason, for example, in 2004, about 20 km 3 of polluted water was discharged into surface water bodies, which is approximately 35% of the total volume of waste water discharged. In these conditions, the main tasks of the Federal Agency for Water Resources are to ensure the rational use, restoration and protection of water bodies, meeting the needs of the population and the economy of the Russian Federation in water resources. To implement these tasks, a departmental target program “Water Resources and Water Bodies” will be formed. Work in this direction is already underway.
The second major problem is the continuing increase in damage from the harmful effects of water. This problem has almost always existed, but in last years, for a number of objective and subjective reasons, it has become especially acute. This is confirmed by a number of large floods that have occurred in recent years in many regions of the Russian Federation and were accompanied by significant damage and casualties.
As a result of the catastrophic flood in Lensk in 2001, 2,692 houses were completely destroyed and 1,527 houses were damaged. 41 thousand people had to be evacuated from the flood zone. 26 people died. The damage from the emergency amounted to more than 8 billion rubles.
In the Southern Federal District in June 2002, floods destroyed and damaged more than 40 thousand residential buildings. About 380 thousand people were affected. 114 people died, and the damage from the emergency amounted to more than 18 billion rubles.
In general, in the Russian Federation, annual damage from floods and floods amounts to more than 40 billion rubles.
Analyzing the causes of the ongoing floods, it should be said that no patterns in their occurrence have yet been established. “It is easier to establish the pattern of movement of infinitely distant luminaries than the pattern of a stream flowing at our feet” (G. Galileo). This is true, since the study of floods is a complex task, the solution of which depends on a large number of factors:
- climatic, directly related to air temperature, precipitation and humidity;
- physical-geographical, including the characteristics of river basins and the geological structure of the soil;
- morphometric, related to the structure of the river bed and floodplain;
- hydraulic, related to the outline of the channel, which determines its throughput;
- anthropogenic, depending on economic activity in the riverbed and floodplain, etc.
Almost all of these factors have not been sufficiently studied, and therefore, to combat floods, preventive measures are used that are designed for outstanding floods that recur once every 50-100 years.
The previously existing system for ensuring the safe passage of floods and floods included a set of measures that made it possible to prevent serious damage. Scientific and design organizations worked proactively, well-thought-out planning and forecasting were carried out, and funds were allocated in the necessary amounts. At the same time, the measures taken concerned not only this or that river, but the entire basin, which ensured a comprehensive solution to the problem and the effective use of federal budget funds.
Since the 90s this system was broken. Science has largely become detached from design and, for a number of objective and subjective reasons, can no longer offer specific and effective measures for the safe passage of floods. The design was divorced from real conditions and continued to be based on old developments of the 30-50s. The quality of work has dropped sharply. As a result, even small funds allocated to solve the problems of safely passing floods and floods began to be used ineffectively.
Recently the situation has become even more complicated. Responsibility for ensuring the development and implementation of flood control measures is now assigned to the Federal Agency for Water Resources, and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation seem to have nothing to do with it. Even the smallest river, on the banks of which a federal official has never set foot and one can safely assume that he never will, the Agency answers. Prepares a draft budget, distributes funds, but has virtually no real ability to control the expenditure of funds. It would be correct to strictly delineate the powers between the Federal Water Resources Agency and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. As an option, we can consider transferring powers to the Agency, within the limits determined by the legislation of the Russian Federation, on main rivers crossing two or more constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as their first- and second-order tributaries. For other rivers, responsibility should be assigned to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. A clear distribution of responsibilities will produce clearer results. Especially if risk criteria for the use of flood-prone areas, principles of their zoning and regulations for economic activity in flooded areas are established. An important element of the overall flood protection strategy is the federal and territorial programs for “Prevention and reduction of damage from floods and other harmful effects of water” for 2006-08. Such programs are expected to be developed in the near future, which will give extremely positive results.
The third particularly large problem is the problem of safety of hydraulic structures (HTS). Today in the Russian Federation there are 29.4 thousand pressure hydraulic structures in operation, problem solvers hydropower, water transport, fisheries and agriculture, and about 10 thousand km of protective structures. Almost all pressure hydraulic structures are potentially dangerous for the life of the population and the country’s economy. In recent years, the condition of the gas transportation system has been constantly deteriorating. The average wear rate of pressure hydraulic structures is close to 50%. The accident rate on Russian hydraulic structures has already exceeded the world average by 2.5 times. At the same time, up to 60 accidents occur annually with damage in current prices ranging from 2 to 10 billion rubles.
In accordance with Federal law“On the safety of hydraulic structures”, responsibility for the safety of hydraulic structures lies with the owner and operating organization. Federal property includes complex-purpose structures located on water bodies passing through two or more constituent entities of the Russian Federation (Fig. 1), as well as those located on transboundary water bodies of international importance. The property of constituent entities of the Russian Federation includes structures of territorial significance, non-state property (municipal, or legal entities and individuals) includes structures that ensure the use of water and its preparation for the production process, construction of energy facilities, etc. Finally, there are ownerless hydraulic structures and structures with unidentified form of ownership.
Rice. 1. Distribution of forms of ownership of pressure hydraulic structures.
The situation is complicated by the fact that most of the GTS does not have service personnel and is in operation from 20 to 50 years. 293 structures are over 100 years old! In hydropower, for example, where hydraulic structures have formed the largest reservoirs in the country, 18 hydroelectric power plants have already exceeded the service life of 50 years, and 11 of them have passed the 60-year mark.
In accordance with the provisions on federal services, supervision (control) of the safety of hydraulic structures is carried out by Rostechnadzor, Rostransnadzor, and Rosprirodnadzor. The main document justifying the safety of a hydraulic structure and its compliance with safety criteria is a safety declaration drawn up by the owner or operating organization and approved by the supervisory authority. As of today, out of 6,424 hydraulic structures that are subject to the federal law “On the Safety of Hydraulic Structures,” only 785 structures have safety declarations, i.e. 12.2%. The remaining structures are operated without the necessary permits, which indicates a failure to comply with the Federal Law “On the Safety of Hydraulic Structures” and a number of decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation.
The situation is especially difficult for small and medium-sized hydraulic structures. For most hydraulic structures, safety criteria have not been established, safety declarations have not been developed, and funding for activities in the field of hydraulic structures safety is clearly insufficient.
There is no necessary design documentation, and therefore, no design values for monitored indicators of the state of the hydraulic structure.
There is no regulatory and methodological documentation for simplified declaration of small hydraulic structures.
The cost of declaring and examining hydraulic structures safety declarations is high (approximately from 0.5 to 1 million rubles per facility). Many owners and operating organizations simply do not have such funds.
The situation is aggravated by the lack of necessary control and measuring equipment, a decrease in field surveys of hydraulic structures, as well as the ongoing reduction of qualified specialists, which does not allow monitoring indicators of the condition of hydraulic structures, developing and clarifying criteria for the safety of hydraulic structures, analyzing the causes of a decrease in the safety of hydraulic structures, maintaining readiness of local warning systems emergency situations at hydraulic structures.
Much of what has been said also applies to industry institutes, whose ability to perform industry-relevant work aimed at ensuring the safe operation of structures is currently significantly limited and continues to decline steadily.
It is clear that in such conditions, speeding up the work on declaring the safety of hydraulic structures is practically impossible - it can only lead to a sharp deterioration in the quality of work and a complete profanation of the very idea of ensuring the safety of hydraulic structures.
Analyzing the reasons for the current negative situation on the gas transportation system, the main ones include:
- first of all, departmental disunity, which does not allow the implementation of a unified technical policy in the field of hydraulic structures safety and the concentration of funds for the implementation of the most important water management projects;
- imperfection of legislative, regulatory and technical support;
- the reasons that have already been mentioned: the lack of qualified personnel, the unresolved nature of a number of issues of ownership of the hydraulic structures, insufficient amounts of funding allocated to ensure the safety of the hydraulic structures, etc.
Since 2005 (Fig. 2), funds from the water use tax began to flow into the federal budget, and then into the Federal Water Resources Agency for distribution to business entities that have water facilities and hydraulic structures on their balance sheets.
Rice. 2. Fundamental scheme for financing the maintenance, development and protection of hydraulic structures.
At the same time, the total volume of budget financing (Fig. 3) has increased almost 4 times, which will allow for priority work to restore the bearing capacity of structures and maintain the pressure fronts of reservoirs.
Rice. 3. Scope of work on the Russian gas transportation system.
Through the Federal Water Resources Agency, work will continue on the construction of protective dams in Lensk, Olekminsk and Yakutsk, Kursk and Zlatoust reservoirs, as well as on blocking the Pemzenskaya and Beshenaya channels in the Khabarovsk region. At the same time, the Agency is developing a “System for ensuring the safety of hydraulic structures and preventing the harmful effects of water during floods”, as well as a departmental target program “Safety of water management systems and hydraulic structures (2006-2008)” - programs that are extremely important.
The Ministry of Transport of Russia continues work on the construction of the second line of the Kochetovsky lock on the Lower Don, the reconstruction of the GTS of the White Sea-Baltic Canal and the replacement of metal structures of the gates of shipping locks.
RAO UES of Russia is completing the construction of the Bureyskaya HPP and continues the construction of the Boguchanskaya HPP.
Work continues to eliminate ownerless hydraulic structures or transfer them into ownership municipalities or economic entities, as required by Art. 225 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Work is being carried out to restore project documentation and develop action plans for operating services and supervisory authorities in the event of emergencies and liquidation of their consequences, as well as training specialists for actions to localize and eliminate emergency situations.
At the same time, an effective solution to the safety issues of hydraulic structures can be achieved only if an integrated system for ensuring their safety is created (Fig. 4), including an effective and economically justified management structure; responsibility for actions or inactions leading to a decrease in the safety level of hydraulic structures; regulatory support and procedures reflecting real processes on water bodies; unified information system for ensuring the safety of structures; unified physical protection system; and the necessary resources, including finance, logistics and personnel.
Rice. 4. GTS safety system.
The basis for such a system could be the federal laws “On the safety of hydraulic structures”, “On technical regulation” and the new Water Code of the Russian Federation, which has already passed its first reading in the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
A great achievement of the developers of the Code is the inclusion in the bill of an entry on the use and protection of water bodies, as well as the operation of hydraulic structures located on them based on the principle of unity of functions economic management water bodies, which provides, among other things, for the implementation of the functions of the Unified balance holder of the hydraulic structure.
Legislative approval of this principle will inevitably involve the creation of one or more legal entities whose balance sheet will include federally owned hydraulic structures.
At the same time, this will mean the concentration of powers and functions in the field of hydraulic structure safety, as well as ownership and accounting rights in a single center (the Single balance holder of the hydraulic structure), which will entail a radical change in the hydraulic structure management system. The single balance holder of the GTS, determined by the Government of the Russian Federation and under the authority of one of the ministries, will organize its work in accordance with federal and regional programs. Among the priority objectives of the programs are:
- completion of inventory and monitoring of hydraulic structures with identification of the most dangerous and pre-emergency hydraulic structures;
- completion of work on compiling the Russian register of hydraulic structures and drawing up safety declarations for these hydraulic structures;
- creation of a unified information system for ensuring the safety of hydraulic structures;
- creation of a unified system of physical protection of hydraulic structures;
- regulatory, legal and technical support.
In the long term it is necessary:
- establishing the safety level of hydraulic structures;
- bringing the hydraulic structure to a standard state;
- improvement of regulatory and technical documentation, guidelines and instructions;
- improving the resource provision of hydraulic structures based on scientifically based standards;
- improving planning, forecasting and coordination of hydraulic structures safety issues.
At the same time, it should be emphasized that the attitude towards the Unified Balance Sheet Holder of the GTS is ambiguous, primarily due to the industry principle in resolving issues that has developed since Soviet times. Every man for himself. There would be nothing wrong with this principle if the safety issues of hydraulic structures were really addressed and if federal budget funds were spent effectively. Neither one nor the other exists today.
To operate, for example, a dozen hydraulic structures of one river basin, today it is necessary to maintain specialized staff of a number of ministries, federal agencies and their territorial bodies, federal supervisory services with the relevant territorial bodies, as well as the structure of industry operators. Moreover, even at one hydroelectric complex, several operating organizations subordinate to various ministries and departments can operate - each working according to its own understanding, having its own security and, as it were, independently of its “neighbors”. Naturally, this approach leads to unjustifiably high costs, ineffective use of state property and, most importantly, does not solve safety issues in water bodies.
In 1993, as a result of the destruction of the Kiselevskoye reservoir in the Sverdlovsk region, the amount of damage in corresponding prices exceeded 70 billion rubles.
The accident at the Tirlyanskaya dam in 1994 in Bashkiria brought losses of more than 10 billion rubles, killing 22 people.
The destruction in 1994 of the western branch of the Perm shipping lock (a 6-chamber lock 1.5 km long) caused damage of more than 20 billion rubles. This object has not yet been restored.
It can be assumed that in the future the situation will only worsen, since ministries and departments have not yet taken any significant and effective actions in the field of preventing accidents at hydraulic structures. Hence, the creation of a Unified Balance Sheet for the GTS is absolutely necessary, since it will help solve long-standing problems. It is important to note that the Unified balance holder of the hydraulic structure must be an exclusively independent structure created to solve strictly defined tasks related to ensuring the safety of the hydraulic structure. Granting these powers to any of the already existing federal agencies could discredit the idea of comprehensive safety in hydraulic structures and give the exact opposite result.
The single balance holder of the hydraulic structure should not be involved in the operation of the structures itself. This will be done by specialized organizations, with which the Unified Balance Sheet Holder of the GTS will enter into an agreement to ensure stable and safe operation of the GTS. The main task of the Unified Balance Sheet Holder of the GTS is to implement a unified technical policy aimed at ensuring the safety of the GTS, and to bring the GTS to a standard state with its further improvement and development.
The advantage of such a system is that it can actually improve the safety of hydraulic structures, reducing damage from their destruction by up to 10 billion rubles. in year. It finds support among GTS operators and will finally make it possible to pay people depending on their experience and knowledge, and this, in turn, will increase the attractiveness of professions involved in the maintenance and development of GTS and will help attract young specialists.
It should be said that when resolving the issue of the Unified balance holder of the hydraulic structure, it would be appropriate to resolve the issue of optimizing supervision over the safety of the hydraulic structure. Currently, in the country there has been a confusion of the concepts of supervision and control, and therefore it would be correct to separate supervision, as the highest degree of state control over the safety of hydraulic structures, from the actual control over the safety of hydraulic structures. In this case, supervision will be carried out by civil servants, and control will not necessarily be carried out by civil servants.
Control functions based on the nature of its responsibilities could be carried out by the Unified Balance Sheet of the GTS, which will be most interested in ensuring the safety of the GTS, the efficient use of state property and the efficient use of federal budget funds. This approach will also be correct because, in accordance with the Federal Law “On the Protection of the Rights of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs during State Control (Supervision),” each state control (supervision) body can carry out a planned control event no more than once every 2 years. What's in between? Who will check, for example, the readiness of the hydraulic structure for a flood? Who will check the readiness of the forces and means necessary to prevent and eliminate possible accidents on hydraulic structures? Who will check compliance with the operating regimes of large reservoirs? Etc. The conclusion suggests itself - a single balance holder of the GTS.
This will be effective and economically justified, since it will not require an increase in personnel to carry out control functions.
We invite you to take part in the work of our magazine! Send proposals for cooperation, on the subject of materials, your articles and comments to. We also invite you to take part in events organized by the magazine (conferences, round tables, discussions).