QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT METHODS FOR INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Integrated water resources quality management is of particular importance for preserving the protected area since this is what determines the biodiversity of the aquatic and terrestrial biota and ensures the requirements and rights of citizens. This article is dedicated to international experience in the concept of integrated water resources management (IWRM) utilizing the methodologies for implementing specific complex environmental management aspects, based on the integral indicators of bio-communities health and quality management statistical methods. The research performed on one of the most significant waterways of the state-protected areas in subtropical South Russia's region. Environmental management elements, applied to some protected areas of the Republic of South Africa, could be utilized for the mastering of a consistent quality environment monitoring system and establish a comprehensive database designed for developing a set of measures for the natural resource conservation rehabilitation. As a promising instrument for the practical implementation of the IWRM principles, the multimetric biotic index (MMI) is proposed within this research. MMI is built up on the parameters that reflect the biodiversity and stability of biological communities, degree of water organism's tolerance to external influences, and toxicity of the aquatic environment. Application MMI in combination with the DMAIC quality management principles, aims to achieve stability of processes occurring in river biocenoses by reducing the impact of controlled anthropogenic factors and, as a result, consistently improving the watercourse's ecological situation and adjacent ecosystems. (C) 2021 Published by European Publisher.