Federal Environment Minister, Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi, has said that water and sanitation diseases cost Rs 112 billion per annum to the national exchequer; hence national drinking water policy has been finalised and will soon be presented for cabinet approval.
He was addressing a seminar on 'Clean water and healthy life' here on Saturday. He also said water scarcity and its poor management could lead to loss of biodiversity and agricultural production, increase in malnutrition and diseases, reduced economic growth, social instability, and conflict. "The Ministry of Environment is fully cognisant of the water scarcity and other related issues, and has responded these by finalising the National Drinking Water Policy in consultation with the international partners, provincial governments and other stakeholders. This policy would soon be presented to the Federal Cabinet for approval," he added.
According to him, based upon the UN Medium Population Projections, more than 2.8 billion people in 48 countries would face water stress or scarcity conditions by 2025. The stress on water resources is from multiple sources and the impact could take diverse forms. Urbanisation, increased population growth, industrialisation, inefficient use of water for irrigation and dependence of the agricultural sector on chemicals and fertilisers has led to the overcharging of the carrying capacity of our water bodies. Deterioration in water quality and contamination of lakes, rivers and ground water aquifers has therefore resulted.
The Minister said they have finalised a joint programme for environment with their development partner United Nations after consultative process with stakeholders from the provinces.
"In addition to this several key initiatives under Pakistan Wetland Programme, River and Lakes Cleanup Programme, Coastal Areas Management Programme have been taken to address the issue of water scarcity and treatment ensuring preservation of bio-diversity and marine ecosystem. As less than 1 percent of world's fresh water is accessible to direct human use and over 60 percent of Pakistan's population is without access to safe drinking water. These service deficiencies primarily affect the poorest segments of the society. Water scarcity is the growing threat and Pakistan falls in the category of water stress countries. Water stress threshold being defined as renewable water resources below 1700 cubic meter per person per year whereas availability in Pakistan is just a little over 1000 cubic meter per person per year, therefore, making us water stress country," he added.
Afridi said as water is lifeblood of economy, recognising its importance, the government of Pakistan has taken water and water-related issues at the top of the political agenda initiated various measures to minimise the threats of water scarcity and associated environmental problems. He also said the Government of Pakistan is celebrating National Year of Environment with the aim to develop right policies and enhance awareness for water management is key a focus of the year. "We have also finalised the quality standards for drinking water. The MDGs concerning water and sanitation, which give the target of halving the share of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015, compared to 1990 are likely to be reached," he added.
The Minister urged the all segments of the society to put their efforts for conservation and effective management of water, as there is no life without water. He said that by arresting wastage of water, we could help the poor segments of the society to have access to water. "We need to wake-up to the reality of environmental degradation, which is posing great threat to our health," he added.