Report: Pakistan could face mass droughts by 2025
As the water level reaches to absolute scarcity, some experts link the issue to population growth and urbanisation. Photo: Getty images
(Web Desk) – Pakistani experts have warned that the country could face drought in the near future. Experts have further warned that the country will approach “absolute scarcity” level of water by 2025.
According to the Independent, a report by The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) states that Pakistan touched the “water stress line” in 1990 before crossing the “water scarcity” in 2005.
An unnamed government official said that an urgent research is needed to find the solution – but warned that the country’s government lacks sufficient funds.
Pakistan ranks fourth in the world for its highest rate of water usage, but is dependent on water from a single source - the Indus River basin located in India - and since the rainfall has been slowly declining, amid claims from the experts that this is due to climate change.
Pakistan’s largest city Karachi, home to million people, where very few of the city’s residents have access to running water since most of the land’s water has dried up, has forced many residents to queue for hours for water.
Former chairman of Water and Power Development Authority, ShamsulMulk, said in Pakistan water policy is simply non-existent. Policymakers act like “absentee landlords” over water, he added.
“Because of this absentee landlordism, water has become the property of the landlords and the poor are deprived of their share."
Goats walk over a barren land near the Afghan border in Baluchistan province, Pakistan. Photo: EPA
According to the experts, population growth and urbanisation are the major reasons behind the water crisis of Pakistan. Some say the issue has worsened due to climate change and poor water management.
IrfanChoudhry, an energy sector expert explained the authorities appear to lack the political will to tackle the problem.
“There are no proper water storage facilities in the country. Pakistan hasn t built new dams since the 1960s. What we see is political bickering over the issue. The authorities need to act now. We can store water for only 30 days, and it is worrisome”.
Some politicians have warned of “massive corruption” in the water sector linking it to some elements profiteering from the scarcity of a vital resource.
Meanwhile, others blame Pakistan’s water crisis on India claiming that New Delhi is failing to uphold the terms of Indus Water Treaty which was brokered by the World Bank in 1960 that regulates control of the rivers between the two countries.
