Pakistan needs strong water management Policy for survival
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ISLAMABAD, May 10 (APP): Director US Bureau of Land Management
Professor Patrick Shea Tuesday said Pakistan needed to formulate and implement an effective management policy for its water resources.
In his lecture, delivered at Sustainable Development Policy Institute
(SDPI) here on the `Relevance of Environmental Laws to Coping Climate Change,' he said as Pakistan was turning from water surplus to a water deficient country, establishing an institutional framework for handling the challenge had become all the more important.
In Pakistan and India, he said, melting of glaciers was an important
phenomenon.
According to an estimate, glaciers will melt by 2020.
There is the need of scientific monitoring of glacier melting, he
said.
Shafqat Kakakhel, former Ambassador and Chairman Board of Governors
SDPI, said, `We started as water affluent country with 5500 cubic meter per person per annum. Today, per capita availability has receded to by 1000 cubic meter, which according to the UN is a
condition of stress."
It has various reasons attached to it, like population explosion,
unregulated urbanization, decaying infra-structure and poor water management, he added.
There was protection on drawing of water until 1960s even until 1970s. Under the Indus Water Treaty 3000 tube-wells were installed in
Pakistan to compensate loss of water coming from Eastern Rivers. Today, it has reached to more than one million.
"This has grown into exponential use of tube-wells in Pakistan;
indigenous manufacturers are producing tube-wells in large number. There is no regulatory mechanism," he said.
Tariq Banuri, Professor of Economics at the Utah University, Salt Lake
City, in his deliberations explained that Pakistan needed to protect its available surface water, it needs to protect and preserve ground
water and develop institutions for building policy framework and regulatory.
"Melting of glacier is becoming unpredictable due to climate change. We need to find ways of slowing it down or reversing it," he said.
Secretary Ministry of Climate Change, Syed Abu Ahmad Akif in his
remarks appreciated the work done by SDPI.
He said, Pakistan was among the top seven most vulnerable countries due to climate change, though it was among the lowest in its
contribution to the Green House Gasses.
It stands at 135th position in terms of contribution. Pakistan is
falling short on its water requirement. And, "We don't have resources to convert sea water into drinking water," he said.
