WHY WATER, WHY NOW, & WHY ESPECIALLY IN PAKISTAN?

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Throughout the world the water table is going down. Today around 3800 km3 of fresh water is withdrawn annually from the world's lakes, rivers, and aquifers. This is twice the volume extracted 50 years ago.There is a fixed amount of water on the planet, which can be neither increased nor decreased. However, water is continually recycled and purified by the hydrological cycle. An increasing scarcity of fresh water is now a major threat to global agriculture, food security, health and peace among nations. In both the cases human factor is crucial. According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) water use has raised six fold since 1900, more than double the rate of population growth.

With the world's population projected to top 8 billion by 2024 from 7, 248, 069,8417(Watch World Population) http://www.worldometers.info/watch/world-population/ now, freshwater supplies will not be able to keep pace with rate of growth in population.Ticking Bomb of Population, Even conservative estimates indicate that the population of Pakistan will grow to 208 million by the year 2024. About 50 per cent of the population will be living in the urban areas thus exerting additional pressure on the already strained existing facilities.

2 Answers

  1. The UN Watercourses Convention User's Guide from 2009 (http://www.gwp.org/Global/Our%20Approach/Strategic%20Allies/User's%20Guide%20to%20the%20UN%20Watercourses%20Convention%20(2012).pdf) shows the worldwide water scarcity on page 26, with Pakistan approaching/experiencing physical water scarcity, much like the neighboring areas. Will people continue to live in water scarce areas or will they be forced to migrate simply to get their basic human needs? I have yet to hear a discussion about the possibilities of a less steep increase in the number of humans living in water scarce areas, or of migration to areas with better resources. Since ultimately the governments are responsible for resource management and human rights, agreements with areas not suffering as much from water scarcity seem appropriate.

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  2. Data and conclusions on water shortage are well known. But what about the actions? Building more dams and reservoirs may provide some relief in the short term. However a more sustainable water balance in the long run can only be achieved if we all (individuals, farmers, industrialists, ...) stop wasting precious water. In this respect, I refer to my post "Breaking the vicious water circle" about water sustainability for the textile industries in Bangladesh.