Water scarcity looming large in Pakistan

islamabad — Like other parts of the world, water scarcity is also looming large in Pakistan as since 1951, the per capita water availability has been drastically shrunken from 5,600 cubic metres to the current level of 908 cubic metres.

The data of Population Census Organisation Pakistan indicates that per capita water availability was 5,260 cubic metres in 1951, 4159 cubic metres in 1961, 2838 cubic metres in 1971, 2129 cubic metres in 1981, 1611 cubic metres in 1991, 1259 cubic metres in 2001 and 908 cubic metres in 2016.

However, the population also witnessed a sharp increase during the said period and it was recorded as 34 million in 1951, 43 million in1961, 63 million in 1971, 84 million in 1981, 111 million in 1991, 143 million in 2001 and 197 million in 2016, the data revealed.

Official sources said around 29 million acre feet (MAF) water was wasted every year in the country due to poor storage facilities and accumulation of silt in the main water reservoirs of Tarbela and Mangla.

They were of the view that a sharp increase in population was not the sole factor behind decrease in per capita water availability and a lack of water storage capacity and conservation were also adding to this issue.

They said water scarcity already was affecting every continent. Around 1.2 billion people, or almost one-fifth of the world’s population, live in areas of physical scarcity, and 500 million people are approaching this situation. Another 1.6 billion people, or almost one quarter of the world’s population, face economic water shortage.

According to Pakistan Water Gateway, a non-governmental water-research portal, groundwater levels in the country were also dropping by a metre a year. “If groundwater depletion continues at its current rate, the country is surely headed for widespread water poverty in next few years,” it said.

“Planning for water resources development and management should be at the heart of the policy and be done in coordination with the cross-sector policies and projects such as agriculture, irrigation and industry sectors,” it further suggested. — APP