Water scarcity in Pakistan: tough time ahead

Water is the basis of life and without it, existence of life and society cannot be imagined. Water is among the unequaled boons of nature and its shortage gives rise to a deep crisis which has emerged as the biggest problem in many parts of the earth. Our neighboring Pakistan is also one of the areas where natural and social political factors have made it a complex problem.

The water crisis in Pakistan is deepening with each passing day, with the population growth adding to the intensity of the problem. According to a recently published report by the International Monetary Fund, Pakistan ranks third among countries facing water shortage.

According to the IMF, Pakistan's per capita annual water availability is 1,017 cubic metres — perilously close to the scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic metres. Back in 2009, Pakistan's water availability was about 1,500 cubic metres. The severity of the issue can be gauged by the fact that at the time of its independence in 1947, Pakistan was a water affluent country with five thousand cubic meters per citizen of clean water.

The economics of water

Pakistan has the world's fourth-highest rate of water use. Its water intensity rate — the amount of water, in cubic meters, used per unit of GDP — is the world's highest. This suggests that no country's economy is more water-intensive than Pakistan's.

According to a research study on water resources of Pakistan, approximately water having economic values of $70 billion is being thrown into sea every year due to non-construction of water reservoirs. A water starved country, which has the foreign reserve below than $20 billion, paid a heavy price and water of economic value of $70 billion every year into sea.

The Pakistan Research Council’s study on the water resources of Pakistan (PCRWR) revealed that rapid depletion of groundwater could soon worsen the water crisis in major cities of Pakistan. Such a crisis must be dealt with on a war-footing.

Water Capacity

Presently, Pakistan has a surface water of 153 MAF and underground water resources of only 24 MAF and Pakistan may face water shortage of 33 MAF during the year, 2025.

Why water shortage?

Population is increasing at a rate of 3.2pc. At present, Pakistan have to feed more than 200 million people, and if the population growth rate remains the same, then demand for water will almost double by 2025. The consumption of groundwater will also add to the problem.

According to a research study, in large extent Pakistani river water goes into the sea owing to lack of a necessary number of water reservoirs.  The Tarbela and Mangla dams, the country's two major water reservoirs, reached their almost "dead" levels in June, according to media reports.

Experts say that population growth and urbanisation are the main reasons behind the crisis. Food habits in Pakistan are also a major cause of water crisis. In Pakistan, animal husbandry is mainly used for getting meat. And this is also an important economic activity of the primary sector of Pakistan. But it is also very destructive for water. As per meat production per kg meat production consume more than 100 times more water than producing per kilo gram of rice.

As well as the issue has also been exacerbated by climate change, poor water management and a lack of political will to deal with the crisis. Apart from the water storage issue, experts say that water wastage is also a big issue in the country. Changes in temperature, melting of glaciers and other climate induced changes keep piling on the problems like the fact that 26 out of the 43 lakes have dried up significantly over the past few years.

What the leadership did?

In April this year, former PM of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi announced Pakistan's first National Water Policy, promising consolidated efforts to tackle the water crisis. But experts are skeptical about the authorities will to deal with the issue. The country will hold general elections on July 25 and there is an interim government currently in place. Water crisis is a priority neither for the caretaker government nor for the political parties contesting the polls.

Water distribution: just a Monkey-sharing

According to IRSA, Indus River System Authority (IRSA), a important water regulator body of Pakistan, the water inflow in the rivers of the country was measured at 1,12,900 cusecs, while river outflow remained at 1,19,300 cusecs. The authority said that a total of 1,23,600 cusecs of water was being provided to the provinces.

As per details, Sindh was receiving 55,000 cusecs of water, Punjab was receiving 57,000 cusecs of water, Balochistan was getting 8,000 cusecs, and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) was receiving only 3,000 cusecs to meet its water demands. Also, the total shortage of water was more than 49 per cent, around 51 per cent at rim stations, while canals were faced with a water shortage of 65 per cent, IRSA said. This 51 per cent shortage is at rim stations but at canal head, after conveyance losses, it would be 65-70 per cent.

It was also learned that on the same time last year, inflows were 3,75,100 cusecs while this year the water flow had dropped to 1,12,900 cusecs. In addition, the storage last year was 3.6 MAF and this year it was only 0.22 MAF, thus revealing a big gap in storage capacity and inflows.

Implications

To make matters worse, about 80 per cent of the rural agriculture-related crimes in the country are committed on issues related to the distribution of water. Such conditions reflect a poor system of irrigation and the metal of the local feudal lords who have a knack for diverting water to their own advantage. Moreover, crops like sugarcane gulp a lot of water but it is harvested in bulk in order to feed the sugar mills owned by wealthy politicians of the country. Meanwhile in the urban areas, the contamination of water is the principal concern. In the metro cities like Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, 70 per cent of water is considered unsafe for consumption. According to “The Water Gap — the State of the World’s Water 2018” report published by WaterAid on the eve of World Water Day celebrated on March 22, about 21 million Pakistanis do not have access to clean drinking water. In addition to this, the report also ranks Pakistan to be ninth in the list of ten countries with the least access to clean drinking water. Concomitantly, Pakistan has the highest incidence of Hepatitis C in the world. And the political parties do not include the water scarcity issue in their political agenda for the upcoming 2018 general elections, the newly elected government may find the county’s wells running dry by the time their term comes to an end.

Where natural reasons are important for Pakistan's water problem, on the other hand Pakistan's political environment is largely responsible for this. The center discriminates with the states and the benefits of the schemes take away by the rich states. There is no hearing for weak. Pakistan received unfair benefits only from the Indus Water Treaty whom he was not a legitimate claimant, yet it constantly uses it to disrupt India's progress.

The rulers of Pakistan have constantly kept this matter in mind that the solution to Pakistan's water problem lies in the Indus Water Treaty and India does not allow it to happen. The need is to understand that these propagandas can be helpful to won elections but this problem will not be reduced.