ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s dependence on a single river system is extremely risky whereas the country must put in the effort to fight water shortages, promote reforestation, maintain water infrastructure, harvest more rainfall, and strengthen its water management.
These views were expressed by Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Resident Representative Dr Steffen Kudella during a day-long conference “Water Security Challenges and Conservation Strategy for Pakistan” jointly organised by the HSF and Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS) here on Tuesday.
“Water is also a vital topic of regional dialogue. Regional dialogues on water need to be prepared by discussions on national level first,” he said.
Addressing the conference, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) former chairman Dr Yusuf Zaraf, said that water security is Pakistan’s most critical development challenge.
He said that around 95 per cent of water goes to agriculture, adding that “We have used water for 70 years to use water for electricity. It is expected that water scarcity will be much higher by 2025.
“We are not making any small dams and are also exposing the population to consistent flooding. Water pricing for all wages must be made and there should be better governance and coordination among the ministries,” he said.
Lahore WAPDA Headquarters General Manager (Hydro) Shahid Hameed also reiterated the same.
“Water is less and limited but it is life. Only 1pc of water is present in the form of fresh water in streams. We need water reservoirs to save flood water, rain water so that it can be used in due course. We have to transfer water from western to eastern areas through water barrages, canals etc,” he emphasised.
It may be mentioned here that Pakistan is one of the most naturally arid countries in the world with an average of only 240 mm rainfall per year. Around one-fourth of the country’s land area is cultivated whereas most of this agriculture is water-intensive and dependent on man-made irrigation systems.
