Thirsty Pakistan

Foreign Minister level dialogues with India are scheduled in FEB. India refused to include Pakistan's concern over water issue, in the agenda.

Lets know our resources first...

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the second largest South Asian nation, has a total

population of 146 million and a land mass of 79.61 million hectares (ha), of which 70 million ha is

arid and semi-arid (including 11 million ha of deserts). The country has a great variety of landscapes

ranging from the high mountain ranges of the Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindu Kush (HKH region)

with interspersed valleys, and the vast rich irrigated Indus plain to the impressively rugged rocky

plateaus of Pothwar, Punjab and South West Balochistan.

The country has four distinct climate seasons. April, May and June are extremely hot and

dry months. July, August and September are hot and humid with intensive heat and scattered

rainfall. The cool and dry period starts at the beginning of October and continues through November.

December, January and February are the coldest months of the year. Due to the diversity of the

climate, a large variety of crops is grown to support the agricultural economy.

Water resources

Pakistan’s water resources include rainfall, surface water and groundwater. Rainfall is low

and irregular. Annual rainfall ranges from less than 100 mm in the south to about 1,500 mm in the

north on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. It generally decreases from the Himalayas towards

the south, with the lowest rainfall occurring in southern Punjab and upper Sindh. About 70 per cent

of the annual rainfall occurs from July to September (the monsoon period). This causes the loss of

most of the run-off to the sea without any economic benefit to the country.

The contribution of rain to crops in the irrigated areas (16 million ha) of the Indus basin has

been estimated to be 9.24 billion m3 or 7.55 million acre/feet. In non-irrigated areas (barani areas –

4 million ha) rainfall is utilized for rain-fed agriculture and meeting the drinking water needs of the

population and livestock. The contribution of rain to crops in the barani areas has been estimated

at 7.34 billion m3 (6 million acre/feet).

The surface water resources depend on the Indus River and the five major tributaries, the

Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, on its eastern side. Since the Indus Basin Treaty between

India and Pakistan in 1960, the availability of water to Pakistan has become limited to the three

western rivers of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, which provide about 173 billion m3 of water annually.

The Indus River

alone provides 65 per cent of the total river flow, while the share of the Jhelum and Chenab is 16

and 19 per cent, respectively. Rivers in Pakistan have individual flow characteristics but all of them

generally start to rise in the spring and early summer, with the monsoon rains and snow melt on the

mountains causing a combined peak discharge in July and August. The river flows are at their

minimum during winters, e.g., November to February, when the mean monthly flows are only about

one tenth of those in summer. In addition to the three major rivers, there are numerous small rivers

and streams that are only seasonal, with flow depending on rainfall and they carry practically no

water during the winter months.

Most of the groundwater resources exist in the almost 1,600 km-long Indus Plain, which extends from the Himalayan

foothills to the Arabian Sea and covering an area of 21 million ha. The water is stored in extensive and deep alluvial

deposits under unconfined conditions. This aquifer is fast becoming the supplemental source of water for irrigation. The quifer has been built due to direct recharge from natural precipitation, river flow and continued seepage from the conveyance system of canals, distributaries, watercourses and application losses in the irrigated lands during the past 90 years. Outside the Indus Plain, the groundwater resources are also available in inter-mountain valleys of Balochistan and North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The national groundwater potential is 81.6 billion m3

The water sector in Pakistan faces numerous issues, with the most prominent being:..

(a) Shortages of water due to inadequate storage facility;

(b) Mismanagement of water distribution, operation and maintenance of the irrigation network;

(c) Low productivity per unit of water;

(d) Non-adoption of efficient conservation technologies;

(e) Low irrigation efficiency;

(f) Water quality deterioration (inefficient disposal and handling);

(g) Over-pumping and groundwater mining;

(h) Mixing of fresh and saline aquifers with saltwater up-coning;

(i) Lack of legislation on groundwater utilization;

(j) Waterlogging and salinity including disposal of saline drainage effluents;

(k) Pollution and degradation of wetlands;

(l) Sedimentation of storage reservoirs;

(m) Lack of research on ice and snow hydrology;

(n) Non-participation of beneficiaries in project identification, development and management;

(o) A lack of coordination among research and development agencies; and

(p) A lack of public awareness and education about water conservation.