ISLAMABAD, June 14 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Pakistan’s water crisis has become increasingly visible in recent months: levels in the largest dams are low; parched irrigation canals mean farmers in the south planted less cotton; and the commercial capital Karachi has long queues at hydrants.
In March, IRSA said the dams had, for the first time in 15 years, reached the “dead level”: the point at which their water cannot be drained by gravity, and can only be pumped out.
“We will go down to 500 cubic metres per person per year.” The impact of climate change will cut that another 20 percent, he said, to 400 cubic metres.
The policy, which was delayed more than a decade, covers an array of water-related issues: from the impact of climate change to hydropower, from transboundary water-sharing to irrigated and rain-fed agriculture, and from drinking water to sanitation.
Amir said its 41 pages have 33 objectives, and that makes it hard to convert it into an action plan.
But in practice such high-level councils rarely meet.
Given that most of the Indus water is used in agriculture, he said, the policy should focus on that.
Pakistan must improve how efficiently water is used in all sectors, the GCISC’s Banuri told the CSCCC meeting.
Poor water use is a key part of the problem, agreed Hammad Naqi Khan, who heads WWF-Pakistan, an environmental non-profit.
That will be something for the next government to consider.