The evolution of man is actually meant for the sophistication of his lifestyle. The modern man is unearthing the curiosities of universal mysteries through his inventions. Meanwhile, he is attempting hard to keep natural resources juvenile and sustainable. However, water is a basic essential for life. Pakistan is the third most water-scarce country in the world. A country has a huge potential for freshwater resources but is still left with limited options in this regard. It is in a pickle due to administrative negligence. Pakistan has only built the infrastructure yet to store 10 percent of its total annual water flow while, on average, other countries generally can store 40 percent of their surface water flows. Being an agrarian economy, the water paucity becomes more alarming for our survival. The live water storage capacity has further stumbled down up to 30 days, otherwise it should be up to 120 days for national security. Anyhow, Pakistan needs a dynamic strategy to get over this hump.
Ineffective planning and inter-federation tussle over the division of water resources have a greater role in bringing us up against the wall. The ongoing controversy over the construction of The Greater Thar Canal to distribute Indus water to the deserts of Southern Punjab is a glimpse of such politico-administrative incompetence. The construction of this canal is the part of Greater Indus Project which primarily aims to transform the barren lands into fertile landscapes. However, Pakistan is currently following The Water Apportion Accord, WAA, to equitably distribute the water resources among its federating units. This agreement has been proved futile because of its non-flexibility. It should be restructured as it remained unable to address water shortage and equitable division of its resources.
The developed countries are recycling the majority of wastewater to re-utilise it. Israel recycles more than 90 % of wastewater to use for agricultural purposes. While Pakistan can recycle only 1 % of its wastewater
Moreover, IRSA, Indus River System Authority, is an administrative institution that was established under a previous accord in 1992 to administer the Indus water resources. For efficient administration of water resources, this institution should also be overhauled. Various inquiry commissions pinpointed the technical and administrative incompetence of its members. For example, in a recent prob, the members of NESPAK and WCAP commissions assessed the faults in its currently working telemetry system. This system was installed in the early 1990s. Which has now become outdated to measure water flow accurately however, based on this measurement the water resources are distributed among provinces. Further, an audit reveals that its members are also technically blind to understanding the intricacies of the process. So, both the water apportion accord and IRSA should be restructured as per the current demands.
A country that is blessed with the potential to receive over 160maf annual surface water flow but how it can still head towards absolute water scarcity. It is probably because of flawed policymaking and mismanagement of resources. Its major water reservoir capacity has recently decreased up to 13maf due to the silting of dams. On the other hand, our neighbouring countries like China and India have storage capacities of 672maf and 181maf annually, respectively. At the time of independence, Pakistan inherited one of the best irrigation infrastructure from its colonial powers. Though in the 1960s we remarkably enhanced our water storage volume, later on, we could not expand it with the growing demands. It was estimated that every seven years Pakistan needed a Tarbela-sized dam. But still, after 50 years of its formation, we are unable to build such a dam. As per various research, Pakistan should preferably construct off-stream dams along the Indus River. As Pakistan receives more than 80 percent of its annual flow in 3 months of the summer monsoon and due to the absence of water reservoirs plenty of fresh water flows down to the oceanic bottom.
The developed countries are recycling the majority of wastewater to re-utilise it. Israel recycles more than 90 % of wastewater to use for agricultural purposes. While Pakistan can recycle only 1 % of its wastewater. Rainwater catchment systems and sewage water storage systems are being used to store and recycle the wastewater. Mark Twain describes the future importance of water as,” Whisky is for drinking, water is for fighting over”. Climate change and uncertain weather patterns are also affecting the natural water cycle all over the world. Unusual rain spells are disturbing the storage capacities of countries.
Forestation is the solution to this problem. Ideally, a country should have 25 % forest cover but Pakistan also lags here because it comprises 4.8 % forest cover. Moreover, Pakistan needs to renegotiate the Indus Basin Treaty, IBT, with India to increase the water flow in eastern Indus tributaries. This agreement was agreed on in the 1960s. This has been proved flawed for Pakistan. Its provisions about the division of waters and Pakistan’s consent over the formation of graded structures on water bodies are non-conducive for Pakistan. However, water shortage is an unblinkable fact of the hour so, Pakistan needs comprehensive measures to overcome it.