Arya News - When it comes to water, it’s the renewable reserves that matter most, Viktor Danilov-Danilyan told Scientific Russia magazine.
Renewable reserves of water are what matter most, Viktor Danilov-Danilyan told Scientific Russia magazine. He said humanity has already lost about 20% of its water resources in the past century when pollution and overuse are factored in.While water scarcity crisis is unlikely to threaten human life, it will reshape the global economy as economically accessible reserves of water shrink, he stressed. Relocating industries and adapting consumption will be crucial.Unlike many countries, Russia has an abundance of water.But while Lake Baikal’s volume could theoretically supply the entire world, its actual renewable resource from the Angara River outflow is just 65 km³ per year. By comparison, the Yenisei river carries 670 km³ of water to the Arctic Ocean every year—ten times more. Baikal is not an infinite source, warned the scientist.And unlike countries with uniform conditions, Russia needs multiple management approaches.That could theoretically be solved by transporting water, the scientist explained, but only canals can move large volumes over long distances.Building Asia-to-Europe canals is impractical, with the estimated cost of an intra-Asian project running into over $500 billion for the main canal alone.To make matters worse, seasonal variability in Russia means that two-thirds of river flow occurs during the spring and summer floods, with 70% of annual discharge happening in just two months.Reservoir construction as a potential solution would be expensive, environmentally risky and require vast areas of land.Global Water CrisisWater has already become a traded commodity at a regional level, as seen in the Tigris and Euphrates valleys.But transport challenges prevent a global market. Diverting Siberian water to Central Asia would be astronomically expensive, the scientist noted.Danilov-Danilyan argued the key tasks to avert a global water crisis include:Predicting nature is one thing but responding effectively is another, the expert stressed.