ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is confronting a shift from water-pushed to water-scant status because of variables like populace development, modern extension, wasteful water system, unsustainable groundwater use, lacking capacity, low water efficiency, unfortunate efficiency, and pollution of water assets. This has prompted both quantitative and subjective water misfortunes.
As indicated by Financial Overview 2023-24, to handle these difficulties, the water area’s drawn out arranging recognizes these issues in light of the National Water Strategy. The arrangement adopts the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach, lining up with the strategy’s goals.
The association between water, food, climate, and energy security turns out to be more clear in the looming water emergency.
The far reaching plan tends to this nexus, directed by value, efficiency, reasonableness, participatory navigation, environmental supportability, and practicability in accordance with Vision 2025 and the National Water Strategy in its Northern Regions.
Precipitation the nation over changes essentially in amount, timing, and spatial conveyance. The mean yearly precipitation goes from under 100 mm in bits of the Lower Indus Plain to north of 750 mm close to the lower regions of the Upper Indus Plain. The country depends on the three western streams of the Indus (Kabul, Jhelum, and Chenab).
In the mean time, the three eastern feeders – Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas – were allotted only to India. Around 2.66 million section of land feet (MAF) of water streams from India to Pakistan through these eastern streams, supplemented by an extra 3.33 MAF of runoff created inside Pakistan’s catchments.
The Kabul Stream contributes 21 MAF to Pakistan’s complete surface water. As indicated by Indus Stream Framework Authority (IRSA) raw numbers (Year 2022), the Indus Waterway Framework gets a typical yearly inflow of around 146 to 150 MAF, dominatingly obtained from snow and icy dissolving.
The momentum water accessibility at trench head works is around 97.51 MAF, with assessed yearly misfortunes of around 50 MAF. Pakistan separates roughly 50 to 52 MAF from springs, outperforming the economical furthest reaches of safe yield (Wapda).
With respect to climate change, Pakistan positions fifth in the Worldwide Climate Hazard Record 2023, in view of climate related events from 2000-2019.
In spite of offering under 0.9 percent to add up to worldwide discharges, the country exhibited high weakness during the 2022 obliterating floods, featuring the pressing effect of climate change.
Water projects accomplished striking achievements, starting a trend for greatness and development in water asset management. The devoted endeavors yielded key achievements that have tended to basic difficulties and prepared for reasonable and versatile water frameworks.
