By Umair Habib, Executive Member, UN1FY Pakistan

1.      Introduction

Water is of utmost importance in Pakistan's social and economic establishing as it is vital for multiple industries, notably agriculture, electricity, and fabrication (Natasha, Shahid et al. 2020). Due to concerns like population expansion, ineffective water management, and the effects of climate change, Pakistan has significant water concerns (Fida, Li et al. 2022). Water Scarcity (WS) may be categorized into many forms based on the origins of the problem (Figure 1) (KHAN¹ and KHAN).

Figure 1: Various types of Water Scarcity in Pakistan.

When population growth outpaces a region's water supply, physical or acute WS outcomes. When water is inadequate due to there aren't sufficient monetary resources for spending in water amenities socioeconomic WS arises (Hardberger 2022). Managerial WS is an expression used to indicate the inefficient leadership and inadequate maintenance of water assets, particularly deficits along lines of supply and water contaminancy. Institutional WS is the result of institutions' failure to plan in the future, manage variations in water consumption and accessibility, or establish the technologies required. Political WS depicts an instance during the rest is unable to obtain a water supply due to political constraints (KHAN¹ and KHAN).

2.      The Water Crisis in Pakistan

Causes and Status of Water Scarcity in Pakistan

A complex interaction of numerous natural and manmade causes results in WS. It is primarily brought on in Pakistan by rapid growth in population coupled with growing urbanization, global warming, insufficient infrastructure for storing water, inadequate handling of water and waste products, excessive consumption of groundwater, water contamination, and the overwhelming majority of a semi-arid and arid circumstances (Akhtar, Syakir Ishak et al. 2021). Throughout an era, the worldwide use of water has grown at a rate that is more than twice as fast as the growth in population (SDG, 2019). Consequently, WS is now a threat to various regions around the world (FAO 2019).

Population Growth and Water Scarcity

From 61.4 million in 1972 to 235.8 million in 1922, the country's population increased by an average of 3.84 times, moving it up from 9th to 5th place in the world's population ranking (KHAN¹ and KHAN). Pakistan has 2.85% of the worldwide population, nevertheless just 0.5% of the world's renewable water resources. In terms of total renewable water resources, it is ranked 36th worldwide. Population growth has greatly put demand on the nation's groundwater and surface water availability (Luo, Zhuang et al. 2023). Previous patterns show growing overall and per capita demands in all sectors and steadily declining water resources per capita (SDG, 2019). 

Water consumption has increased by almost 0.7% per year between 1977 and 2017 while available water resources remained fixed at 246.8 billion m³. The average per head water availability in the country has dropped from 5,229 m3/year in 1962 to 3,478 m3/year in 1972, 1,187 m3/year in 2017, and now is on the verge of dropping below the threshold limit of 1,000 m3/person/year. The amount of available water may drop further by 20% in the dry period. This situation has increased stress on water resources and pushed the country into the category of a very high ratio of water withdrawal to supply. This is also evident from the water poverty index (WPI) which has increased from 62% in 1977 to 82% in 2017.

Climate Change and Water Scarcity

Global climate change has affected the water system and changed trends, patterns, execution, quantity, intensity, and types of precipitation (Alghariz and Mogheir 2023). According to the climate risk index (28.83), it is ranked fifth in the world and is already experiencing water resource problems related to the climate (Suruga 2023). Higher temperatures, altered monsoon and annual patterns of rainfall, quickly melting and retreating mountains, and recurring floods and droughts are all signs of the effects of climate change. In Pakistan, the mean annual temperature clearly increased during the preceding century by about 0.570C, and it is anticipated that future temperature increases would be higher than the global average. Another way that climate change is affecting the hydrological cycle and the water supply of the nation is through unpredictable rainfalls like those that have happened in recent years, particularly severe rainfalls like those that have happened in July and August of 2022, an increased risk of glacier lake eruptions, severe flooding, and growing intrusion of saltwater in coastal areas. (Turyasingura, Hannington et al. 2023)

Inefficient Infrastructure and Lack of Water Storage Capacity

Another significant problem contributing to WS in Pakistan the inefficiency of the current infrastructure and the lack of storage space to distribute water according to demand at different seasons of the year. In three monsoon months, the country gets over eighty percent of its water, and in the other nine months of the year, less than 20%. Pakistan has a substantially lower yearly water storage capacity than other nations about 159m3/person (Zhang, Sial et al. 2020). Only 9% of the average yearly inflow can be stored by Pakistan's three largest dams at present. The nation is now susceptible to WS as a result of the present situation. Therefore, building massive dams and improving infrastructural performance are essential for Pakistan's economy.

Poor Management and Wastage of Water

In addition to issues with conserving water, Pakistan is also extremely concerned over insufficient management of water and waste. Mismanagement of water supplies and wasteful consumption of water, whether in residential, agricultural, or industrial settings, results in significant water waste and puts a substantial strain on the availability of water resources. Nearly 70% of the surface water supply in the world is used by agriculture, making it the largest worldwide user of water (Zhang, Sial et al. 2020). The sector of agriculture accounts for more than 90% of Pakistan's total water use (Qureshi 2020).

Large-scale water waste is a result of inadequate water delivery infrastructure. The nation's irrigation infrastructure is just 39% effective overall due to aging and poor maintenance. In other words, only 55 bm3 (or 39% of the 143 bm3 of available water at canal headworks) is used for agriculture, and 87 bm3 (or 61%) is lost during delivery via drainage channels and watercourses, as well as usage in the fields (Ashraf, 2018). Pakistan's water production was ranked eighth lowest in the world in 2017 with a yield of just 1.4 US dollars per cubic meter of water taken.

References