The empty water bucket challenge

As Rawal and Keenjhar lakes dry up, Pakistani across the nation have begun to witness what experts have argued for a long time: Pakistan is running out of water and we have no clue what to do about it.

While some may credit superior courts reprimands to senior government officials for creating this awareness, ordinary citizens’ everyday experience with long queues at water hydrants is what has brought the severity to public consciousness. Experience of electricity and gas shortages in the past decade and the resultant economic stagnancy has created an appreciation of the challenge, as weekly water tanker home deliveries in Karachi are no more a “rich man’s troubles” only.

Talks of a “Pakistan dam” won’t cut it anymore. More dams remain essential, yes, but the country is predicted to become “water scarce” from “water stressed” in 2025, which is sooner than the time it will take to build a dam the size of Diamer-Bhasha even if the construction were to begin tomorrow; notwithstanding the myriad challenges of securing financing, disputed territory status, and relocation of native population.

If any actions are to be taken on “war footing” to resolve the impending crisis, these will constitute such non-headline catching incremental steps that will slow down the slide. Enhancing the artificial reservoirs systems along the basic through all possible measures. This could include catchment’s management and flushing of sediments.

In this context, Lead Pakistan, an Islamabad based think tank focused on public policy research and leadership development has organized a series of seminars on the subject of ‘Management of Shared River Basins”. The program argues in favour of Integrated Water Resource Management by formation of a Basin Management Authority that increases water storage by managing loss of water in the basin area and increasing the number of artificial reservoirs everywhere along the Indus River Basin and its tributaries.

To re-emphasize, Pakistan’s water crisis will not be resolved by a ‘mother of all solutions’ through construction of one dam or the other. In this regard, it would be naïve for ordinary Pakistanis to pin their hopes on the courts as agendas change with retiring judges, and allure of public interest litigation may die out with the retirement of current CJP in seven months. Not to say the inability federal government will face in ensuring financing for any large-scale dam construction given the looming debt crisis.

However, if the ‘non-aligned’ interim setup or the courts wish to take immediate actions, that would be to set the agenda for reforms in the water management sector. A good start would be to ensure the independence of IRSA and laying groundwork for a reliable system of water measurement to ensure transparency among all relevant stakeholders and build confidence at inter provincial level. Pakistan’s water crisis is a reality that will not go away; actions are needed to slow it down!