Poor water management is conservatively estimated to cost 4 percent or around $12 billion per year to national GDP, indicates of World Bank report on Pakistan: Getting More from Water. Sindh Water Sector Improvement Project, Government of Sindh in collaboration of World Bank organized an event for launch of this report here on Wednesday.
The session was chaired by Engr Ashfaque Ahmed Memon, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Sindh on irrigation, and the Panelists included Dr Naeem Zafar, Chief Economist, Planning & Development Department, Government of Sindh, Dr Bakhshal Khan Lashari, Director, Centre for Advance Studies on Water, Mehran University Jamshoro, Kabool Muhammad Khatian, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, Syed Mahmood Nawaz Shah, Sindh Abadgar Board, Mahmood Cheema, Country Representative, IUCN and Simi Kamal, Founder Hissar Foundation, Think Tank on Water Issues.
The report stated that while Pakistan, the sixth most populous country in the world, is well-endowed with water, water availability per person is comparatively low. Water wastage is an issue and agricultural yields are low compared to most countries. Although climate change and trans-boundary issues are a significant hindrance for Pakistan's water sector, the greatest challenges and opportunities are internal, not external, to Pakistan, it identified.
Improving water-use efficiency and productivity, delivery of water services in cities and in irrigation, and addressing environmental sustainability are the most pressing needs, according to this new analysis, it said. While irrigation dominates water use in the country, the four major crops (rice, wheat, sugarcane and cotton) that use 80 percent of water contribute only 5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
These costs are dominated by inadequate domestic water supply and sanitation, but also include the costs of floods and droughts. Poor sanitation and a lack of wastewater treatment cause water-borne diseases that kill 40,000 children each year. Rivers, lakes and the extensive Indus Delta are severely degraded undermining important ecosystem services.
The report mentioned that reaching upper-middle income status by 2047 is an ambitious goal for Pakistan and will require significant change in the structure of the economy. However, water scarcity need not to limit growth. Irrigation water use can increase to meet growing food demands if efficiency improvements are made. Changes in diet with increasing wealth will have significant impacts on commodity demands and crop choices.
Agricultural subsidies must be reformed to reflect real value of commodity exports and of water. Without reform, irrigation water use will limit water access by industry and services sectors, constraining economic growth. Attention must be given to increasing flows below Kotri Barrage both for the health of the delta and for Karachi water supply, the report stated.
Dr Fateh Marri, Project Coordinator, WSIP, P&D Department in his opening remarks said that water is critical for the economy, environment and society in Pakistan, therefore we, together; have to address the issues & challenges to this sector.
He further said that the provincial government is in process of formulating Sindh water policy which is expected to contribute to the sustainable growth of the economy of Sindh and Pakistan.
Dr William Young, author of the report, said that new dams can help improve water security but will not address the most pressing water problems that Pakistan faces. He further added that Irrigation systems need modernizing; hydromet systems should be expanded; and urban water infrastructure, especially for wastewater, requires major investment. Ashfaq Memon, Advisor to Chief Minister, said that "Sindh province which is at tail end of River Indus, face chronic water deficits and suffer frequently from droughts.
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