A two-day seminar "Environmental, Social and Cultural Impact of Water Scarcity in Sindh" concluded here on Friday after unanimously approving eleven recommendations to resolve water problem in the province.
The recommendations adopted by the scholars are:
1) 1991 water accord is a consensus document and should be implemented in letter and sprit.
2) Distribution of water should be done strictly in accordance with the provision of 1991 accord.
3) There is no surplus water available for building new dams and canals, therefore, no new dams and canals be built.
4) Mitigation measures downstream Kotri is must to protect environment, ecology and marine life and elevate human suffering and marine life and need to accommodate the hazards in an effective policy framework.
It was recommended that at least 27 MAF as recorded by IUCN, which is the minimum requirement, must be provided throughout the year so that fresh water from Indus should infiltrate subsurface and adjoining areas for whole year.
5) In order to fully understand the extent of damage caused by water scarcity especially in the delta region, it was recommended that research studies below Kotri must be carried out.
6) It was recommended that by using total economic value method in accordance with multi-disciplinary water scarcity approach would enable policy makers, ie, provincial & federal government to determine minimum economic value of downstream water below Kotri.
7) Regulations, management and operation of dams and inter-provincial link canals should be streamlined so that no water stored could be diverted unless the share of lower riparian under the water accord is ensured.
8) It was strongly recommended that in view of facts discussed above, the construction of greater Thal Canal must be stopped immediately, looking at the technical/legal aspects of the project and the damage that will occur to the lower riparian provinces.9. Since wetlands are very important to production, wetlands are directly affected by the climate change impact.
It is recommended that the estimation of water requirement to perform its functions and regulation of flow to maintain its water balance should be carried out.
Mangrove reforestation plans must be chalked-out and an integrated approached be adapted to work with the coastal communities to reduce exploitation and develop alternate sources of income.
10) Make arrangements for removal of sediments of existing dams/barrages and same be allowed to flow downstream of Kotri barrage on regular basis. This will also enhance life of Tarbela and delta region.
11) Mitigation programme should be launched to reduce human suffering in Thar area.
Earlier, several scholars have presented their papers on various aspects of water shortage and its adverse impacts on human, wildlife, fisheries, agriculture and ecology of the deltaic region.
Dr Tasneem Kazi has presented her work on the chemical and biological analysis of number of mineral water bottles available in the market for public consumption.
According to her research, most of the mineral water bottles do not comply with the WHO water quality standards and, thus, are not safe for drinking purpose.
It recommended the government to lay some check on the chemical analysis of these bottles. The audiences were of the view that such information must be communicated to the government and be made public.
Dr Miss Rahat Jahan of WWF in her paper presented on the "Impact of Water Scarcity on Wetlands of Sindh" was based on population analysis of birds as bio-indicators of water scarcity of wetlands.
She also elaborated the threats to wetland, which is due to lack of awareness, drought and water logging.
As a result there is reduction of fish catch, extraction of species, loss of agriculture land and disappearance of wetland. Therefore, she called for adequate measure to protect the existing wetlands of Sindh.
Professor Ghulam Hussain Wagan presented his paper on "Harvesting of Seepage and Infiltrated Waster Water for Irrigation".
He was of the view that most of sweet water is wasted due to mismanagement into seepage. He also suggested alternate to overcome water shortage such as construction of cascades to reduce the size of river, construction by central islands to overcome losses of precious water.
For municipal water, he recommended trickling beds for the preservation of aqua life. All these measures, according to his recommendations, are crucial for water management.
M. Tahir Qureshi from IUCN presented his paper on "Ecological Disaster in the Indus Delta", he said that the problem of gradual encroachment of the sea in Indus Delta and up the main course of River Indus in the lower part of Pakistan now increasingly being brought to the forefront of recent policy debates.
He said that sea intrusion has caused the destruction of several thousand hectares of land; rendering prime agricultural land barren, contaminating aquifers and causing the degradation of the land and water resources.
This has seriously affected fishing and agriculture that constitute two principal vocations of the local population leading to loss of livelihoods, migration to winter lands and a rise in poverty levels.