Water security of mankind: global and regional dimensions

Abstract

The article outlines modern and perspective water security of mankind, which means the population's ability to have sustainable access to the necessary quantity of acceptable water quality to maintain the existence, well-being and socio-economic development; protection against water-related pollution and disasters; conservation of ecosystems and political stability. The article notes that despite of a huge volume of water on the planet, its fresh resources contained in surface runoff and being the main source of water supply are limited. The work examines geographical, economic, political, anthropogenic factors creating the background for a global water management problem and threat to the water security of mankind. The article analyzes regional water management problems of Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and other regions;  the research underlines the presence of significant political and economic difficulties with the use of the river flow of international river systems. The article considers prospects of the global threat to water security for mankind and ways to overcome it. A high correlation between the growth of the world population and the growth of global water consumption is substantiated. The research shows that by 2030 the water-resource potential of mankind will practically lose the capacity for self-recovery. There should be a strategy to solve the problem and a mechanism to implement it, including the creation of the International Fund for the Streamlining of the Use of the World's Water Resources and the Institute for its Regulatory and Legal Support under the auspices of the United Nations; electronic department of the United Nations with the functions of monitoring the state of water resources and access to them by the population, development of international regulations on water use, creation of design estimates, financing of water projects of global or international importance, monitoring the implementation of water management measures