Keywords: water scarcity, demand, water pollution,water supply, ecosystem,sanitation, water crisis, reclaim water, solar desalination, smart irrigation Annotation

Water scarcity
Rakhmanov E.Sh
Tashkent medical academy, Bachelor’s student of the faculty of cardiology
Supervisor: Narmetova Y.K.
Doctor of philosophy in psychology, since February 2019, teacher of the "Pedagogy and psychology" department of the Tashkent Medical Academy.


Keywords: water scarcity, demand, water pollution,water supply, ecosystem,sanitation, water crisis, reclaim water, solar desalination, smart irrigation

Annotation: Water scarcity refers to a condition where water demand is greater than supply. This imbalance is caused by water pollution, pressure from water-intensive agriculture, population pressures, and climate change effects on water sources.
Water scarcity has grave impacts on human health, but also on plants, animals, and the planet as a whole. It also poses a threat to food security. A 2014 paper by Wada et al., in Nature, estimates that water scarcity can be significantly reduced by 2050 if stakeholders commit to improving agricultural water productivity, improving irrigation efficiency, improving domestic and industrial water-use intensity, limiting the rate of population growth, increasing water storage in reservoirs, and increased desalination of seawater in coastal water-stressed regions.

What is water scarcity?

There’s nothing more essential to life on Earth than water and our ability to overcome water scarcity. From Central Australia to sub-Saharan Africa and Asia’s teeming megacities, water is scarce. People are struggling to access the clean waterthey need for drinking, cooking, bathing,hand-washing, and growing their food.
Globally, 785 million people lack access to clean drinking water. Every day, over 800 children die from dirty water, due to diarrhoea caused by poor water, sanitation and hygiene and scarce or unreliable water and sanitation facilities in many communities around the world.
The impacts of water scarcity affect families and their communities. Without clean, easily accessible water, they can become locked in poverty for generations. Children drop out of school and parents struggle to make a living.
Women and children are worst affected - children because they are more vulnerable to diseases of dirty water and women and girls because they often bear the burden of carrying water for their families for an estimated 200 million hours each day.Water covers 70% of our planet, and it is easy to think that it will always be plentiful. However, freshwater—the stuff we drink, bathe in, irrigate our farm fields with—is incredibly rare. Only 3% of the world’s water is fresh water, and two-thirds of that is tucked away in frozen glaciers or otherwise unavailable for our use.
Many of the water systems that keep ecosystems thriving and feed a growing human population have become stressed. Rivers, lakes and aquifers are drying up or becoming too polluted to use. More than half the world’s wetlands have disappeared. Agriculture consumes more water than any other source and wastes much of that through inefficiencies.
Climate change is altering patterns of weather and water around the world, causing shortages and droughts in some areas and floods in others.
At the current consumption rate, this situation will only get worse. By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages. And ecosystems around the world will suffer even more.
KEY FACTS - UNICEF
Four billion people — almost two thirds of the world’s population 
— experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year.
Over two billion people live in countries where water supply is inadequate.
Half of the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by as early as 2025.
Some 700 million people could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030.
By 2040, roughly 1 in 4 children worldwide will be living in areas of extremely high water stress.
In Our Country

According to research, in the next 20 years, the demand for water in Uzbekistan will increase significantly and the available water resources will decrease sharply, which will increase the current water shortage up to five times. By that time, Uzbekistan will be among the red regions in terms of water shortage. What are the likely scenarios of dehydration?

Water shortage in Uzbekistan
In recent years, the water shortage observed in Uzbekistan is occurring in two directions: first of all, there is not enough clean drinking water for the needs of the population, and serious problems are arising in the provision of agricultural water resources.
The Ministry of Water Management informed Kun.uz that in the 80s of the last century, the annual water consumption of Uzbekistan was estimated at 64 billion cubic meters.

Of this, 20% corresponds to rivers and streams within the republic, underground water reserves, and 80% to the amount of water taken from transboundary rivers formed in the territory of neighboring republics. The average annual amount of water used in the republic was 53.9 billion cubic meters in 2019, 51.2 billion cubic meters in 2020, and 43.2 billion cubic meters in 2021.According to Anvar Muhammadaliyev, chief specialist of Uzsuvtaminot JSC, the shortage of water in the country, in turn, leads to a shortage of clean drinking water. In the last 15 years, the annual volume of water per capita has decreased from 3048 cubic meters to 1589 cubic meters.

Water scarcity preventation

1. Sustainable water management

Improving water infrastructure must be a priority, as water conservation and efficiency are key components of sustainable water management. Solar desalination and smart irrigation systems are great examples of clean technology for water efficiency and control. That obviously applies even more to the agriculture and farming sector - the largest consumer of water.
2. Reclaimed water
Rainwater harvesting and recycled wastewater also allow to reduce scarcity and ease pressures on groundwater and other natural water bodies. Groundwater recharge, that allows water moving from surface water to groundwater, is a well-known process to prevent water scarcity.
3. Pollution control & better sewage treatment
Without proper sanitation, the water becomes full of diseases and unsafe to drink. That is why addressing pollution, measuring and monitoring water quality is essential. Besides, improving the sewage systems in specific areas is another way to prevent water scarcity from becoming any worse.
4. Awareness & Education
Education is critical to solve the water crisis. In fact, in order to cope with future water scarcity, it is necessary to radically reform all forms of consumption, from individual use to the supply chains of large companies.

References:

1. 
   Worldvision.com.au - Global water crisis: Facts, FAQs, and how to help
   
2. 
   Unicef.org - Water scarcity Addressing the growing lack of available water to meet children’s needs. (UNICEF/UN0199521/Noorani)
   
3. 
   Europa.eu - How tech and modern market mechanisms can solve water scarcity in Uzbekistan
   
4. 
   KUN.UZ - Water scarcity in Uzbekistan: Probable drought and escalating environmental challenges