Aspects of water use in Russia-Kazakhstan transboundary region

[摘要] The study addresses the specific features of the use of water resources in the Russia- Kazakhstan transboundary region. It was found that over the past twenty years the studied region faced a significant reconfiguration of water use. The water consumption for agricultural purposes noticeably reduced, primarily due to a reduction in areas that receive inundation irrigation and regular irrigation. The subregions with relatively low indicators of water availability were established, which owes to insufficient renewable river run-off in conditions of significant water withdrawal for industrial and utility needs. Given the current demographic situation, the problem of guaranteed water supply may be exacerbated in Kazakhstan with a steady population growth. The results indicate that the socio-economic transformations in the Russia-Kazakhstan transboundary region affect the structure of water consumption, the water availability and the water use efficiency. The integrated water resources management within the Rus- sian-Kazakhstan transboundary region should improve the water use efficiency in the water sector and take into account the hydroclimatic changes.

[学科分类] 自然科学（综合）