Water Crisis in Pakistan
EMERGING WATER CRISIS AND ITS IMPACT ON PAKISTAN
Introduction
1. Water in general and fresh water in particular is essential for sustaining quality of life on earth. This commodity has a direct bearing on almost all sectors of economy. In Pakistan, its importance is more than ordinary due to the agrarian nature of the economy. Share of agriculture in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Pakistan, though reduced since 1970, is now estimated at about 24%. Agriculture is also the major user of water, yet in many parts of Pakistan, the very survival of the people depends on the timely and adequate availability of water. With rising demands, the aridity index of the country is adding further to the significance of water in any developmental activity in Pakistan. Though, once a water surplus country due to huge water resources of the Indus River System, Pakistan is fast becoming a water deficit country. The present annual per capita water availability in Pakistan is about 920 cubic metres, which is far below the minimum recommended level of 2000 cubic meters.
2. As an outcome of the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan had undertaken an ambitious and elaborate water storage strategy and created large water storage reservoirs to guard against the vagaries of weather. However, poor water shed management and ill planning over the years has caused large amount of silt to accumulate in these reservoirs reducing their storage capacity. At the same time, with no new projects coming up coupled with increased cropping intensities actual available water has now become scarce. The country today clearly faces severe water shortage. The gap between demand and supply of water has actually increased to levels, which is creating unrest among the federating units. On the other hand conditions of drought over the last four years have further reduced fresh water supplies. Consequently, the policy makers with the engineering community are in a state of war to find proper and implementable solutions to
Introduction
1. Water in general and fresh water in particular is essential for sustaining quality of life on earth. This commodity has a direct bearing on almost all sectors of economy. In Pakistan, its importance is more than ordinary due to the agrarian nature of the economy. Share of agriculture in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Pakistan, though reduced since 1970, is now estimated at about 24%. Agriculture is also the major user of water, yet in many parts of Pakistan, the very survival of the people depends on the timely and adequate availability of water. With rising demands, the aridity index of the country is adding further to the significance of water in any developmental activity in Pakistan. Though, once a water surplus country due to huge water resources of the Indus River System, Pakistan is fast becoming a water deficit country. The present annual per capita water availability in Pakistan is about 920 cubic metres, which is far below the minimum recommended level of 2000 cubic meters.
2. As an outcome of the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan had undertaken an ambitious and elaborate water storage strategy and created large water storage reservoirs to guard against the vagaries of weather. However, poor water shed management and ill planning over the years has caused large amount of silt to accumulate in these reservoirs reducing their storage capacity. At the same time, with no new projects coming up coupled with increased cropping intensities actual available water has now become scarce. The country today clearly faces severe water shortage. The gap between demand and supply of water has actually increased to levels, which is creating unrest among the federating units. On the other hand conditions of drought over the last four years have further reduced fresh water supplies. Consequently, the policy makers with the engineering community are in a state of war to find proper and implementable solutions to