*ISLAMABAD: An international symposium titled ‘Creating a Water SecurePakistan,’ arranged by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Saturday made 20recommendations to overcome water shortage in the country.*
The World Resources Institute maintained that Pakistan is at number 23 outof the top 33 countries which will get water-stressed by 2040 while thePakistan Council of Research in Water Resources has opined that Pakistanmay run dry by 2025 if the present conditions continue.
Following are the recommendations made by the international conference:-
1. The potential of Pakistan’s part of the Indus Basin has to be realizedthrough priority actions that need to be taken on an immediate basis.Maintaining the integrity of the Indus Basin is a serious and importantresponsibility of the Federation as well as the Provinces, including allother administrative units and above all, the people of Pakistan.
2. It is imperative for Pakistan to invest in supply augmentation (dams andreservoirs) and ensure better utilization of its groundwater, adoptingappropriate water technologies (water recycling, desalinization, and waterharvesting) and manage consumption and use of water (controlling waterdemand and pricing) and do all of this under the principles of mutual trustand benefit sharing.
3. International Water Law should be taken advantage of by consistentlyputting forward Pakistan’s perspective before various international forumsand Pakistan’s strategy regarding implementation of the Indus Water Treatyshould be reconsidered and revisited to bolster its case.
4. The government must introduce water accounting based on modernized waterdata collection methods to assess, amongst other things, the wateravailability per capita, in order to build trust amongst the Provincesregarding water apportionment, particularly considering the requirements ofthe Indus Delta and lower riparian areas in Pakistan.
5. Effective salinity and sedimentation management techniques must beadopted to protect Pakistan’s agricultural land and the storage capacity ofdams and reservoirs respectively.
6. Numerous small and large dams and reservoirs must be constructed on apriority basis. Fast-track feasibilities and action is required on the partof the Executive.
7. Innovative solutions regarding storage facilities for low gradientplains (flat areas, coastal areas, hard rock, barani areas and desertareas) must be adopted.
8. The Indus Basin irrigation network has to be extended which would bringseveral million acres of land under irrigation, and design water allocationright down to the district level.
9. Various traditional and non-traditional financing methods includinginter alia direct investment, corporate finance, portfolio investment,bonds, upfront tariff, crowdfunding and public private partnershiparrangements, must be employed to meet the huge financial requirements forconstruction of water storage facilities.
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10. Various measures for conservation of water need to be taken whichinclude saving and better management of storage of groundwater to preventits unrestricted extraction,
11. Measures need to be introduced for flood risk reduction through floodplains and hill-torrent management, groundwater recharge, wetlandsrestoration and community based natural resource management. Other measuresto control wastage, encourage productivity and ensure sustainability ofscarce resources need to be considered. An appropriate legal frameworkshould be available to strengthen institutional arrangements for properenvironmental hazard tackling.
13. The Indus Basin, one of the largest contiguous irrigation systems inthe world, is at risk of reduced flows, climate change, populationexplosion, outdated agricultural practices, financial crunch and otherchallenges, which need to be addressed immediately. Pakistan’s rain-fedareas, deserts, mountain catchments, and coastlines also face challengesrelating to water availability and water uses. The recently articulatednational water policy is a step towards remedying these issues which shouldbe implemented by the executive.12. It is no longer feasible to allowunfettered access to the valuable resource of water with no incentives tocheck usage and therefore, it is essential that a fair water pricing modelis formulated and implemented by the competent regulatory institution(s).
14. Steps be taken to set up and establish an appropriate Indus BasinAuthority through a legal instrument with the mandate to ensure theintegrity of the basin and all related activities with all requisitepowers, financial resources and enforcement mechanisms.
15. Sound systems of governance and management are the need of the hour toeffectuate the intent of the water policy and the benefits to be gainedfrom infrastructure development, including dams and reservoirs.
16. Water related subjects have been diffused between various institutionswhich make reaching solutions difficult. Institutions need to be empoweredwith the required mandate and resources, and responsibilities need to beallocated in order to effect change.
17. The institutional capacity of WAPDA being the main water stakeholdershould be strengthened for the urgent development of dams and reservoirs onthe model of the Indus Basin Replacement Works.
18. Person power of the future must be prepared through our educationalsystems to address the emerging water challenges of the 21st century.
19. Pakistan should immediately set up a powerful Task Force on Water.
20. Agricultural income tax be levied and recovered across the board,throughout Pakistan through appropriate authorities set up; through aneffective legal framework.
