Scenarios of sustainable regional water consumption under climate change

Abstract

General . The sustainable economic development of a region implies execution of a number of environmental constraints and standards, meeting conditions to secure public (population) health, social stability and safety. A special role is played by water problems: water consumption, water protection and measures against natural and anthropogenic disasters, catastrophes and other negative occasions ensued from hydrological processes and phenomena or associated with them. Taken together, these problems can be related to water consumption understood in the most broad sense, or to water industry beyond its administrative (former, present and supposed) framework, but including everything which directly provides for operation of water resources, protection of water objects and people, their economy as well as natural ecosystems from negative actions of waters.Therefore, water industry as no other sphere of activity is systemically linked with all aspects of sustainable regional growth [1]:-ecological, since it provides for preservation of natural mechanisms of water resources reproduction, including the quality of water, using for this purpose different means, in particular, rationing of water grants, economic methods for water objects protection, regulation of water consumption, etc., as well as protection of natural ecosystems from negative consequences of all types of water consumption;-socio-medical, as it supplies households with water of the required quality for economic-drinking needs, creates sanitary conditions meeting standard requirements, implements measures against infectious diseases the incidence of which is associated with water, etc.;-social-economic, as it mediates the exploitation of water resources by all water users, satisfying their economic need in it to as much as it is permitted by environmental constraints, conciliates the interests of all water users in the person of their administration bodies (corporative, municipal, state-federal and territorial) in regard to exploitation and protection of water resources.Transition to a sustainable economy demands deep structural-technological changes and identification of such priorities as human intellect, knowledge and information. The strategy of environment protection is necessary as a mandatory component of the state policy, national plans on protection of environment-as a component of the natural program of the development of the country, implementation of which would be impossible without the system of control, including mandatory participation of the public. The lack in Russia of such a system and such plans and a body of federal executive power which would be responsible for their development and administering is the main cause for environment deterioration observed in Russia since 2000, for increased negative effect on it. The persistence and continuation of these tendencies lead to further degradation of water and water collecting land territories threatening with increased water deficit to those parts of the country that have limited water rese...