4 Management of Surfaces Water Resources—Ecological Status …
135
• Social sustainability—maintaining water requirements and willingness to pay for
water services;
• Economic sustainability—economic support for measures which ensure a high
living standard in terms of water consumption for all citizens;
• Institutional sustainability—maintaining the ability to plan, manage and operate
the water resource system.
Water resource management requires the involvement of all interested parties—
public and private—at all levels and at the right time.
The integrated water resource management is based on the River Basin Management Plan (RBMP), in line with the provisions of the EU Framework Directive
2000/60. Based on knowledge of water body status, RBMP sets the target objectives for a six-year period and proposes measures to achieve good water status for
sustainable use [1, 3].
4.1.2 The Importance of Water and Areas of Use
The present stage of economic and social development is characterized by unprecedented dynamics. Given the limited nature of natural resources, water, one of the most
important natural resources, must be well managed, in order to prevent the “water
crisis”, term which is increasingly used in the forecasts of international organizations.
Scientists have repeatedly warned of a possible global water crisis, which has
determined the United Nations to set March 22 as “World Water Day”.
The care for a rational water management is due to the characteristics of the water
as a natural resource with an uneven distribution in time and space, with a limited
character, with limited possibilities (from a technical and economic point of view)
to be transferred between regions or different river basins [4].
Due to the increase in the world population and other factors, fewer people benefit
from drinking water. The water problem can be solved by increasing production, a
better distribution, and the wise use of existing resources.
The UNESCO Water Development Report (WWDR 2003) of the World Water
Assessment Program notes that in the next 15–20 years, the amount of available
drinking water will decrease by 30%, while 40% of the world population do not have
sufficient clean water for minimal hygiene. More than 2.2 million people died in 2000
from contaminated drinking water or droughts. In 2004, an English organization,
WaterAid, reported that a child dies every 15 s due to water-related diseases that
could easily be prevented [5].
At the United Nations Conference on Water Resources, held in Mar del Plata
(Argentina, 14–25 March 1977), it was estimated that the total volume of water on
Terra was 1400 million km
3 . Of this, freshwater held a percentage of 2.7; only 0.46%
of the volume of freshwater on Earth is directly used [6].
135
• Social sustainability—maintaining water requirements and willingness to pay for
water services;
• Economic sustainability—economic support for measures which ensure a high
living standard in terms of water consumption for all citizens;
• Institutional sustainability—maintaining the ability to plan, manage and operate
the water resource system.
Water resource management requires the involvement of all interested parties—
public and private—at all levels and at the right time.
The integrated water resource management is based on the River Basin Management Plan (RBMP), in line with the provisions of the EU Framework Directive
2000/60. Based on knowledge of water body status, RBMP sets the target objectives for a six-year period and proposes measures to achieve good water status for
sustainable use [1, 3].
4.1.2 The Importance of Water and Areas of Use
The present stage of economic and social development is characterized by unprecedented dynamics. Given the limited nature of natural resources, water, one of the most
important natural resources, must be well managed, in order to prevent the “water
crisis”, term which is increasingly used in the forecasts of international organizations.
Scientists have repeatedly warned of a possible global water crisis, which has
determined the United Nations to set March 22 as “World Water Day”.
The care for a rational water management is due to the characteristics of the water
as a natural resource with an uneven distribution in time and space, with a limited
character, with limited possibilities (from a technical and economic point of view)
to be transferred between regions or different river basins [4].
Due to the increase in the world population and other factors, fewer people benefit
from drinking water. The water problem can be solved by increasing production, a
better distribution, and the wise use of existing resources.
The UNESCO Water Development Report (WWDR 2003) of the World Water
Assessment Program notes that in the next 15–20 years, the amount of available
drinking water will decrease by 30%, while 40% of the world population do not have
sufficient clean water for minimal hygiene. More than 2.2 million people died in 2000
from contaminated drinking water or droughts. In 2004, an English organization,
WaterAid, reported that a child dies every 15 s due to water-related diseases that
could easily be prevented [5].
At the United Nations Conference on Water Resources, held in Mar del Plata
(Argentina, 14–25 March 1977), it was estimated that the total volume of water on
Terra was 1400 million km
3 . Of this, freshwater held a percentage of 2.7; only 0.46%
of the volume of freshwater on Earth is directly used [6].