Management critical to avert looming crisis of water scarcity in Pakistan: president

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday said Pakistan’s increasing vulnerability to climate change required urgent action on the management of water resources and for an improved system of water conservation at national and local levels.

“It was the responsibility of both the government and citizens to save water through resilient and sustainable solutions,” the president said addressing at the international conference in connection with the Pakistan Water Week.

The conference themed ‘Needs for sustainable water management in a climate crisis for the Indus Basin’ was organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology through the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and CGIAR’s Water, Land and Ecosystems Programme.

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The event brought together academics, government officials, and policy experts to discuss the serious threat of water scarcity in Pakistan by 2035 and to lay emphasis on the linkage between water and food security.

President Alvi said climate change was the key factor affecting the reliability of water resources across the globe and raising concerns about the future of water availability in countries including Pakistan.

He stressed simultaneous steps to address the issue of water management, such as the policy on water-pricing to inculcate a responsible approach among the masses to save valuable commodity.

He emphasised the practices to reduce water consumption including drip irrigation instead of flood farming, water recycling, and reallocating water for more valuable uses.

Dr Arif Alvi said for ages, water had been the lifeline of ancient civilisations, may it be Mehrgardh, Harappa or Mohenjodaro, that became extinct after the river changed its course.

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Similarly, he said, today’s Indus Water Basin and the country’s large aquifer needed attention for the formation of a regulatory framework for groundwater use.

He said the melting of glaciers due to global warming could lead to incidences of severe droughts and extensive floods in Pakistan.

He said some areas of Pakistan particularly Balochistan had already started facing increased water scarcity with a critical need for climate adaptation in the water sector.