Pakistan is facing serious issue of water mismanagement and the government needs to formulate a viable plan for water conservation. These views were expressed by senior experts at the interactive session on "Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) for Indus River and Water Stewardship Study" held here on Saturday.
The event was organised by WWF-Pakistan in collaboration with WWF-UK and participated by all the stakeholders including representatives of World Bank, ADB, EU, academia, Non-Governmental organisations (NGO) and students. Khalid Mohtadullah, Dr. Pervaiz Amir and Simi Kamal presenting their studies reports stated that management of water resources is the most important environmental issue being faced by Pakistan and therefore working on a comprehensive programme to conserve and sustainably manage freshwater is imperative to benefit the environment and people.
It was further informed that the effects of the floods in 2010, there devastating impact on the social and economic fabric of the country, combined with the global financial crisis, the growing climate change and the prevailing water management crises has led to critical analysis of water management in Pakistan. They stressed that there is a need for scientifically assessing the causes that have increased the current water crisis along with determining the gaps in the overall administrative and response mechanisms that have contributed to the present situation besides the natural calamity.
Sharing their views, Hammad Naqi Khan, Azher Uddin Khan and Professor Johan Briscoe, revealed that measures are needed to ensure that the agricultural and natural ecosystem of the Indus Basin function well, the water resources, entitlements and services upon which people depend should be strengthened and made more productive and adaptive capacity of the local people be enhanced to face the future water fluctuations.
The study reviews the present policy, institutional and legal framework for water resources, allocation and management; present a critical analysis of management of 2010 floods and covers water economics and zoning focusing on irrigated eco zones of River Indus. It looked at international best practices, provides recommendations for an improved river basin management framework for the Indus Basin and spells out the contours of Pakistan''s National Water Policy.
The studies revealed that the best option for sustainable economic growth given the present level of investment in other sectors, it is necessary to first have water policy that will allow for optimal development and management of Pakistan''s water resources and assets.-End