Is Pakistan Running Dry?

Ebrahim, Zofeen T.

doi:10.1007/978-981-32-9614-5_7

Zofeen T. Ebrahim²

236 Accesses
5 Citations

Abstract

The 2018 National Water Policy of Pakistan states that from a 5260 m³ surface water availability back in 1951, it has been reduced to 1000 m³ in 2016. If things remain the way they are, it is likely to drop to 860 m³ by 2050. It gives a clarion call for ‘rapid development and management of the country’s water resources on a water footing’. To address their water challenges the Pakistani government is relying a lot on the supply side management of waters which may not be very effective. The decline in water is also affecting the power generation and other sectors which are dependent on it.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Chapter: USD 29.95; Price excludes VAT (USA)

eBook: USD 99.00; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Hardcover Book: USD 129.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

1.
Ebrahim, Z. T. Is Pakistan Running Out of Fresh Water? MIT Technology Review. http://www.technologyreview.pk/is-pakistan-running-out-of-fresh-water/.
2.
Ibid.
3.
Ibid.
4.
Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Water Resources. National Water Policy 2018. http://www.ffc.gov.pk/download/AFR/National%20Water%20Policy%20-April%202018%20FINAL.pdf or https://mowr.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/National-Water-policy-2018-2.pdf. Accessed August 12, 2018.
5.
Buhne, N. (2017, November 15). Water Insecurity. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1370550. Accessed March 5, 2019.
6.
Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Water Resources. National Water Policy 2018. http://www.ffc.gov.pk/download/AFR/National%20Water%20Policy%20-April%202018%20FINAL.pdf or https://mowr.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/National-Water-policy-2018-2.pdf. Accessed August 12, 2018.
7.
Pakistan on Track to End Power Shortages Within Two Years—ADB. (2016, June 21). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/pakistan-energy/pakistan-on-track-to-end-power-shortages-within-two-years-adb-idUSL8N19C3M4. Accessed July 15, 2018.
8.
Author interviewed Dr Arif Anwar over an email.
9.
Eckstein, D., Hutfils, M.-L., & Winges, M. (2018). Global Climate Risk Index 2019: Who Suffers Most from Extreme Weather Events? Weather-related Loss Events in 2017 and 1998 to 2017. https://www.germanwatch.org/sites/germanwatch.org/files/Global%20Climate%20Risk%20Index%202019_2.pdf. Accessed January 5, 2019.
10.
Scaling-Up of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) Risk Reduction in Northern Pakistan. United Nations Development Programme, Pakistan. http://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/operations/projects/environment_and_energy/project_sample.html.
11.
Scaling-Up of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) Risk Reduction in Northern Pakistan. United Nations Development Programme, Pakistan. http://www.pk.undp.org/content/pakistan/en/home/operations/projects/environment_and_energy/project_sample.html.
12.
Author interviewed Dr Arif Anwar over an email.
13.
Author interviewed Shafqat Kakakhel over an email.
14.
International Monetary Fund. (2015). Issues in Managing Water Challenges and Policy Instruments: Regional Perspectives and Case Studies. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2015/sdn1511tn.pdf. Accessed June 29, 2018.
15.
International Monetary Fund. (2015). Issues in Managing Water Challenges and Policy Instruments: Regional Perspectives and Case Studies. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2015/sdn1511tn.pdf. Accessed June 29, 2018.
16.
International Monetary Fund. (2015). Issues in Managing Water Challenges and Policy Instruments: Regional Perspectives and Case Studies. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2015/sdn1511tn.pdf. Accessed June 29, 2018.
17.
Eighteenth Amendment to Constitution of Pakistan. (2010). www.comparativeconstitutionsproject.org/files/pakistan_2010.pdf. Accessed January 12, 2002.
18.
Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Water & Power. (1991). Water Apportionment Act. https://mowr.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Water-Accord-1991.pdf. Accessed June 25, 2008.
19.
Mustafa, D. (2013). Water Resources Management in a Vulnerable World the Hydro-Hazardscapes of Climate Change. New York: I. B. Tauris.
20.
Ibid.
21.
Author interviewed Dr Hasn Abbas over an email.
22.
Mustafa, D. (2013). Water Resources Management in a Vulnerable World the Hydro-Hazardscapes of Climate Change. New York: I. B. Tauris. Also see, Mustafa, D., Gioli, G., Milan, K., & Khan, I. (2017, April 5). Contested Waters: Subnational Scale Water Conflict in Pakistan. United States Institute of Peace: Making Peace Possible. https://www.usip.org/publications/2017/04/contested-waters-subnational-scale-water-conflict-pakistan.
23.
Ibid.
24.
Author interviewed Dr Hasan Abbas over an email.
25.
Ibid.
26.
Ibid.
27.
Government of India, Ministry of Water Resources & Ganga Rejuvenation. (1960). Indus Waters Treaty. http://mowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/INDUS%20WATERS%20TREATY.pdf. Accessed August 12, 2018.
28.
Author interviewed Dr Daanish Mustafa over an email.
29.
Author interviewed Rafay Alam Khan over an email.
30.
Author interviewed Dr Hasn Abbas over an email.
31.
Rao, Z. (2018, October 25). Spare the Indus Water Treaty Please! Daily Times. https://dailytimes.com.pk/314230/spare-the-indus-water-treaty-please/.
32.
Author interviewed Dr Rafay Alam Khan over an email.
33.
The Times of India. (2016, September 27). “Blood and Water Can’t Flow Simultaneously” PM Narendra Modi Gets Tough on Indus Treaty. Retrieved August 20, 2018 from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Blood-and-water-cant-flow-together-PM-Narendra-Modi-gets-tough-on-Indus-treaty/articleshow/54534135.cms.
34.
Author interviewed Dr Rafay Alam Khan over an email.
35.
Ibid.
36.
Ebrahim, Z. T. (2017, January 6). Pakistan Not Doing Its Homework on Indus Waters Treaty, Says Former Commissioner. thethirdpole.net. https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2017/01/06/pakistan-not-doing-its-homework-on-indus-waters-treaty-says-former-commissioner/.
37.
Gupta, J., & Ebrahim, Z. T. (2017, January 6). Win Some, Lose Some, Indus Waters Treaty Continues. https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2017/01/06/win-some-lose-some-indus-waters-treaty-continues/
38.
Author interviewed Dr Rafay Alam Khan over an email.
39.
Ibid.
40.
Ibid.
41.
Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan. Pakistan Economic Survey 2017–2018. http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_18/02-Agriculture.pdf.
42.
Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan. Pakistan Economic Survey 2017–2018. http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_18/02-Agriculture.pdf.
43.
Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan. Pakistan Economic Survey 2017–2018. http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_18/02-Agriculture.pdf.
44.
Author’s conversation with Muhammad Azeem Ali Shah, regional researcher at International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
45.
Author interviewed Dr Hasan Abas over an email.
46.
Ibid.
47.
Compendium on Environment Statistics of Pakistan, 2015. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan. http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//crops_and_climates/compendium_environment/compendium_environment_2015.pdf.
48.
Khan, M. H. (2018, January 1). Will We Be Able to Go Beyond the Rhetoric to Face the Water Challenges Ahead? Dawn https://www.dawn.com/news/1380112.
49.
Hanif, U. (2018, January 24). Pakistan’s Agriculture Productivity Among the Lowest in the World. The Express Tribune. https://tribune.com.pk/story/1616347/2-pakistans-agriculture-productivity-among-lowest-world/.
50.
Compendium on Environment Statistics of Pakistan, 2015. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan. http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//crops_and_climates/compendium_environment/compendium_environment_2015.pdf.
51.
Author interviewed Dr Arif Anwar over an email.
52.
Ibid.
53.
Ibid.
54.
Ibid.
55.
See SASWE Research Group. http://saswe.net/.
56.
Author interviewed Dr Hasan Abas over an email.
57.
Author interviewed Dr Hasan Abas over an email.
58.
Shaikh, A. (2018). Unlocking the Cold Chain Potential. Aurora. https://aurora.dawn.com/news/1143185.
59.
Study: Third of Big Groundwater Basins in Distress. (2015, June 17). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/grace/study-third-of-big-groundwater-basins-in-distress.
60.
Situation Analysis of the Water Resources of Lahore Establishing a Case for Water Stewardship. WWF Pakistan. http://www.wwfpak.org/wsp/pdf/SAWRL.pdf.
61.
Ibid.
62.
Ibid.
63.
Ibid.
64.
Ibid.
65.
Ibid.
66.
Ibid.
67.
Ebrahim, Z. T. (2018, October 21). The Real Cost of Bottled Water. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1440240.
68.
Author interviewed Dr Arif Anwar over an email.
69.
Author interviewed Dr Arif Anwar over an email.
70.
The World Bank Report. (2019). Pakistan: Getting More from Water. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/31160.
71.
Ibid.
72.
Ibid.
73.
Ibid.
74.
The World Bank Report. (2019). Pakistan: Getting More from Water. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/31160.
75.
Nawab, J., Khan, S., & Xiaping, W. (2018, July). Ecological and Health Risk Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements in the Major Rivers of Pakistan: General Population vs. Fishermen. Chemosphere, 202, 154–164.
76.
Ibid.
77.
Ahmed, S. I. (2018, January 11). Pakistan Launches Drive Against Crops Grown with Wastewater. thethirdpole.net. https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2018/01/11/pakistan-launches-drive-against-crops-grown-with-wastewater/.
78.
Vegetable Growers Using Untreated Industrial Wastewater Face PFA Crackdown. (2018, November 5). The News. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/389692.
79.
Podgorski, J. E., Eqani, S. A. M. A. S., Ullah, R., Shen, H., & Berg, M. (2017, August 23). Extensive Arsenic Contamination in High-pH Unconfined Aquifers in the Indus Valley. Journal of Sciences, 3(8). http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/8/e1700935.full. Accessed September 30, 2018.
80.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2011). Indus Basin. http://www.fao.org/nr/Water/aquastat/basins/indus/index.stm.
81.
Ibid.
82.
Ebrahim, Z. T. (2017, July 28). Revealed: 91% of Karachi’s Water Unfit to Drink. thethirdpole.net. https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2017/07/28/91-of-karachis-water-unfit-to-drink/.
83.
Ibid.
84.
Author interviewed Dr Khalid Mohtadullah over an email.
85.
Kiani, K. (2018, June 7). Call to Make Indus Waters Treaty Part of Foreign Policy. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1412565.
86.
We Will Build Dams on Every Inch of Indus: CJP. (2018, November 26). The Express Tribune. https://tribune.com.pk/story/1854481/1-will-build-dams-every-inch-indus-cjp/.
87.
Nawaz Approves Allocation for Bhasha, Dasu Dams, Motorways. (2014, May 23). Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1108169.
88.
The World Bank. (2014, June 10). World Bank Approves Dasu Hydropower Stage I Project. http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/06/10/world-bank-approves-dasu-hydropower-stage-i-project.
89.
Fund Raising Status for the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams Fund. (2019, April 5). Supreme Court of Pakistan. http://www.supremecourt.gov.pk/web/page.asp?id=2757.
90.
Gupta, J. (2018, May 22). Indus Cascade a Himalayan Blunder. Thethirdpole.net. https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2017/05/22/indus-cascade-a-himalayan-blunder/. Accessed May 12, 2018.
91.
Flybjerg, B., & Ansar, A. (2014, April 7). Hydroelectric Dams Are Doing More Harm Than Good to Emerging Economies. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/hydroelectric-dams-emerging-economies-oxford-research.
92.
Miner, A. (2014, August 18). Mosul Dam: Why the Battle for Water Matters in Iraq. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28772478.
93.
Author interviewed Dr Hasan Abbas over an email.
94.
Author interviewed Dr Arif Anwar over an email.
95.
Ibid.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Karachi, Pakistan
Zofeen T. Ebrahim

Authors

Zofeen T. Ebrahim
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Amit Ranjan

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Ebrahim, Z.T. (2020). Is Pakistan Running Dry?. In: Ranjan, A. (eds) Water Issues in Himalayan South Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9614-5_7

Download citation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9614-5_7
Published: 15 December 2019
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-32-9613-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-32-9614-5
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics