Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Chaudhry Nouraiz Shakoor Khan said that Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) had launched a number of research and development (R&D) projects to mitigate drought and water scarcity in all ecological zones of the country. He was addressing at the inaugural session of the 7-day workshop on 'Artificial recharge and rain water harvesting' organised by PCRWR in collaboration with UNICEF here on Monday.
He said that available resources of South Asian countries had come under acute stress due to rapid growth of population, industrialisation and expansion of irrigated agriculture.
The minister said that out of 142 million acre feet of available surface water per annum in Indus river system, about 38 million acre feet ran off unutilised into the sea, without bringing economic return to the nation.
Meanwhile, he observed, the continuous pumping of groundwater was causing water level depletion and quality deterioration. He urged the experts to devise strategies to enhance and recharge groundwater.
Chairman PCRWR, Dr Mohammad Akram Kahlown said that water resources of the South-Asian region were under immense stress.
He further observed that some cities in Pakistan, like Sarghoda, Ziarat, Loralai and Karachi had contaminated water due to sewerage and solid waste disposal problems. The chairman said that PCRWR would set up a Centre for Water Management in arid areas with the help of UNESCO in near future.
Dr Abdin Salih, director UNESCO, Tehran, said that water was a vital issue requiring prompt attention and observed that participants through this workshop would be able to share their knowledge and experiences in improving the artificial recharge of this resource, as well as rain water harvesting.
Australian expert Paul Pavelic, Dr W.D Kemper from USA and Dr S.A Prathaper from Oman also spoke on the occasion.
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