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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WATER CONSUMPTION IN THE ADJACENT TERRITORIES OF RUSSIA, CHINA AND MONGOLIA

D Ts-D Zhamyanov

Abstract

One of the most important problems in the socio-economic development of the adjacent territories of Russia, China and Mongolia is water supply. Russian regions, including the Republic of Buryatia, the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Amur Region, are characterized by sufficient reserves of water resources, relatively evenly distributed over the territory. The structure of water use in the regions is dominated by energy and also in the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Amur Region large volumes of water consumption are used by mining enterprises. On the territory of China, water resources are distributed very unevenly. "Almost half of the territory of the country belonging to the northern China (including Heilongjiang Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region) accounts for only 18% of surface and 30% of groundwater" [Chi He Jing, Chen Xikang, 2005]. Unlike the Russian regions, in the border provinces, in recent years there has been a shortage of water resources, due to the rapid growth of industry and agriculture. In the adjacent Mongolian aimags with Russia the regime of humidification on the north of a country favors to the presence of both surface and underground water resources on the territory. With sufficient water availability, the total volume of water consumption is comparable with the Russian regions. The scarcity of water resources in China is aggravated by irrational use. So, according to the calculations made in the border provinces, up to 90% of industrial wastewater is discharged into the lay of land. No more than 13% of waste water enter sewage treatment plants. Therefore, bottled water is used for drinking water in China. It should be noted that the measures taken to protect water resources are clearly insufficient with increasing volumes of water consumption. In this respect, the situation in the Russian regions is somewhat better - treatment facilities are available only in large settlements. For objective and subjective reasons, most of them are in a worn condition; therefore, wastewater treatment is not fully carried out. In the territory of Mongolia, the most negative impact on water resources among adjacent aimags is allocated by the aimags Orkhon and Darkhan-Uul, where the country's largest industrial enterprises are located. Thus, regional differences in water use of individual regions in the territory of Russia, China and Mongolia are due to both the water availability of the territory and the features of socio-economic development. There is a similarity of water protection problems in these three countries due to the rapid development of the mining and forestry industries, agriculture. An important factor in reducing the water availability of all areas under consideration is global climate change and the associated aridization and desertification processes with it.

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