Climate Change: Water Scarcity

Challenges & Its Solutions

Seminar Jointly Organized by: RIPP-Riphah International University & Al-Khidmat Foundation

“Climate Change: Water Scarcity Challenges & Its Solutions” 29th March 2018

Riphah-ETB Campus, Islamabad.

Introduction:

Every year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of water. The theme for

the year 2018, “Nature for Water” provides an important opportunity of exploring

nature-based solutions for various water challenges. This theme is closely linked

with Sustainable Development Goal 6 “ensuring availability and sustainable

management of water and sanitation for all by 2030” which explicitly talks to

halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and increase water recycling and

safe reuse.

Water is not only a life sustaining resource but also accounted for social well-being and economic prosperity. It plays an important role in managing healthy ecosystem. Besides the fact that plenty of water is found on the surface of earth, only 2.5% is available as freshwater. The floods and droughts are considered as major water challenges for 21st century globally. The phenomenon like global warming and climate change further aggravates towards the severity of these challenges. The climatic analysis dictate that the amount of rainfall has been increased annually however, the rainfall is mostly not available when it is critically required for crops to grow healthy. On contrary, the heavy rainfall triggers flash flooding which not only damages infrastructure, property and crops but unrecoverable loss of important lives of people. The tsunami and other recent flooding events happened in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and China are the worst examples of these disasters. It is believed that the proper exploitation of this huge potential could help in mitigation of drought prevalence conditions. The environmental damage together with climate change is driving the water-related crises which we are facing around the world. The protection of watersheds reduces the risk of ecosystem degradation in terms of providing clean water at downstream. The degradation of vegetation, soil, rivers and lakes directly impacts floods, drought and water pollution. The context of food security, the role of ecosystem services is very crucial. It is now time to focus on to explore nature-based solutions which have great potential to salve the complex water related challenges. There is a need to emphasize more for the promotion of green-infrastructure approach which has the revolutionary benefits for human beings in sustainably managing the environment and ecosystem as a whole. The concept of this year theme, “Nature for Water” promotes planting new forests, reconnecting rivers to floodplains, and restoring wetlands will rebalance the water cycle and improve human health and livelihoods. The adoptability of such approach will

provide integrated and visible benefits of nature to people in the form of availability of abundant food, clean water and healthy air.

In this context Riphah Institute of Public Policy in collaboration with Al-Khidmat Foundation organized a seminar on “Climate Change: Water Scarcity Challenges and Its Solutions” on 29th March 2018 at Riphah International University, ETB Campus Islamabad.

Objectives of the Event:

To mobilize and ensure the engagement of societies i.e. Governmental Water institution, National and International NGOs, and academia by placing a common platform to put forward best efforts and solutions to strengthen the water resource management system.

Create awareness on Climate Change, Water Scarcity, Challenges and Solutions.

To do a series of dialogue to make policy for Governmental Institutions for management of water resources.

Speakers:

Syed Ihsan Ullah Waqas

Sr. Vice President Alkhidmat Foundation

Prof. Dr. Anis Ahmad

Vice Chancellor Riphah International University

Syed Rashid Dawood

National Director Alkhidmat Clean Water Program

Dr. Ghulam Rasool

Director General Pakistan Meteorological Department

Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad

Director General PCRWR

Dr. Abdul Majeed

Water Expert IUCN Pakistan

Mr. Kamran Naeem

WASH Specialist UNICEF

Mr. Khalil Raza

Expert, ECOSF

Dr. Tauqeer Ahmad

Centre for Climate Research and Development (CCRD) COMSATS

Dr. Manzoor A. Malik

Project Director (NCBI) PCRWR

Dr. Rashid Aftab

Director Riphah Institute of Public Policy

Syed Ihsan Ullah Waqas:

Syed Ihsan Ullah Waqas, Sr. Vice President Alkihdmat Foundation consider

that importance of the precious and finite commodity i.e water and its

conservation and usage however the awareness for the same is a big

challenge in the country. He said that we are not aware about preserving

our ecosystem and to conserve water or sustainable use of water resources

and its development. Media has to play a vibrant role in mass awareness

for creating a sociatial impact for the conservation, utilization and

development of water systems. There must be an advocacy program at

multiple levels starting from homes and schools and may cover all the

segment of society so a ownership of the society may be achieved to for

effective and efficient utilization of the precious resource i.e. water.

Prof. Dr. Anis Ahmad:

Pro. Dr. Anis Ahmad Vice Chancellor Riphah International University

Islamabad paid thanks to Alkhidmat foundation that they choose Riphah

International University as a platform to highlight this crucial issue of

Pakistan. Pakistan is approaching the scarcity threshold for water.

Groundwater supplies being the last resort of water supplies are being

rapidly depleted. We have to bring behavioral changes in our societies in

order to conserve water for our future generations. These behavioral

changes does not come with government initiative, we all have to take

some initiatives at Individual level. We have to teach our children how to

use water in a sustainable way. Furthermore, he suggested that Riphah

Institute of Public Policy should construct a working group with

postgraduate students and researchers and formulate policy research on

this subject. Further various programs with Islamic scholars may be

arranged to highlight the issue in context with religious perspective.

Syed Rashid Dawood:

Syed Rashid Dawood discuss the importance of water in our life. Water

brings colors to our life. Quran also teaches us the importance of water.

Safe drinking water is one of the Pakistan’s immediate and most crucial

problems that demands earliest actions to be taken for the provision of

safe drinking water to the citizens of the country. Alkhidmat Foundation

Pakistan is practically active to ensure the provision of safe drinking water

by installing hand-pumps in arid lands, drilling water wells in remote water

scarce areas, installing water filtration plants in cities and supplying water

to homes in villages through its water scheme. Many organizations

including Alkhidmat Foundation working for providing water fit for human

consumption through various projects and initiatives. There is a need that

at the individual level, organizational level, and community level, regional

and national level concrete efforts to be undertaken to conserve and

judicious utilization of water. Government should have to develop some

forum to make policies related to water.

Dr. Ghulam Rasool:

Dr. Ghulam Rasool, D.G Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD)

discussed the emerging scenario of climate change in Pakistan and the role

being played by PMD in developing early warning system. He said that

about 198 Meteorological services all over the world are accessible by

Pakistan Meteorological Department. After the formation of Earth it’s temp

was maintained on 15oC and thus prevented from more cooling. After

Industrialization, gases tend to move towards the atmosphere hence temp

of Earth rises. Due to the rise in temp water cycle intensify hence flash

floods occur. These flash floods destroy our population, community. Now

dams are built due to the cause of power generation rather it can be built

to conserve flood water. In 2010, floods destroy our country just because

we are lack storages to conserve flood water. Pakistan must enhance its

water storage capacity by manifolds as this is one of the lowest around the

world. Our policies and planning frameworks are disconnect with science

hence causing serious implication to maintain our ecosystem and address

climate change challenges.

Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad:

Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad, Director General, PCRWR said that at the time of

Independence, Pakistan has enough water resources and from historical

perspective agro-economic model based on water was pursued. The

country which was water surplus is now a water deficit country and now

entering in the era where we are facing water scarcity challenges. In

Pakistan, we experience floods in some parts of the country at the same

time there is also drought in other parts. This disturbance is just because of

climate change. We should have to raise voice on “National Water Policy”.

As early as possible this policy should be approved and implemented.

Ground water is a good dependable source and we have to conserve it for

our future and it’s use should be efficient. Water projects should be started

according to the needs of the communities and communities/end users

must be engaged in the water resources projects.

Dr. Abdul Majeed :

Dr. Abdul Majeed, Water Expert IUCN discussed the availability of water in

Pakistan. IUCN has a long history of engagement in water conservation in

the region. Water availability per capita has decreased 5 times in Pakistan

and further huge disparity exists for water per capita in various

regions/location of the country which is alarming. The approach has to be

water demand driven instead of the present practice which is supply driven

and causing huge water losses. Climatic changes also contribute to the

scarcity of water. Glaciers melt, sea water rises as a consequences of

climate change. In order to resolve this crucial issue our focus should be

demand management through a holistic and system approach. Programs

should be developed to implement sustainable water management in order

to support poverty reduction, equitable development, resilience to climate

change, and conservation of biodiversity. The program also influence policy

and builds the capacity across sectors and good governance framework to

manage water resources. The climate change phenon is effecting the whole

system and 27% of glaciers will be reduced in the next 10 years, further

about 30 MAF water going waste and the same may be addressed as only

5-8 MAF is required to preserve our environmental friendly eco system.

There is an urgent need for an Integrated Land and Water Resources

Development approach and this require behavior changes as well in

addition to other interventions.

Mr. Kamran Naeem:

Mr. Kamran Naeem, WASH Specialist, UNICEF was of the view that the

water supplied the human consumption is about 7-8 % whereas 90% goes

to sanitation. About 73% water supplied for drinking purposes in Pakistan is

unfit for drinking. According to UN-SDGs standards and goals assessment

only 38% people in Pakistan can access to the clean drinking water and

situation of sanitation is alarming. Health burden also increases in context

with water and sanitation perspective. Diarrhea is one of the biggest killers

of children in Pakistan. If a child experience diarrhea more than one time

his intestine damages as a consequences he lack logistic skills hence have a

stunted growth. Stunted growth is not only limited to poor people. Children

with stunted growth become challenging for the future of Pakistan.

He suggested that the existing institutional arrangements must be re-

organized and responsive governance system of each institution may be

chalk out at multiple level and the institutional capacity must be enhanced

for the effective delivery. The starting point can be awareness campaign

related to water and its dynamics focusing how develop attitude to

conserve water and pursuing a behavior change for the water resources

sustainability.

Mr. Khalil Raza:

Mr. Khalil Raza, ECOSF focuses on climate change policy. He discussed 5

visible indications of climate change i.e Average temperature rise, sea level

rise, Glaciers melt and humidity. Now we are facing severe water issues due

to the limited water resources and every water resource is interconnected.

If scientific information is not enough we cannot understand the problem.

We should have to vast our information related to the science of climate

change in order to understand the problem and also cope with these

changes.

Dr. Tauqeer Ahmad:

Dr. Tauqeer Ahmad, CCRD COMSATS said that there is a need to conserve

water. Today there is mismatch between supply and demand and the

challenges in context with demand are critical and to be rationalized. Water

resources and irrigation to be applied in accordance to crop water

requirements as still agriculture plays a major contribution to GDP.

Strategies to achieve sustainable water management in Pakistan are

urgently needed as different regions are already experiencing high water

stress with serious negative consequences on human health and

ecosystems. CCRD is going to introduce Water Tariff and Water Pricing in

the community.

Dr. Manzoor A. Malik

Dr. Manzoor A. Malik, Project Director NCBI discussed about the ground

water issue in Pakistan. Now water logging has decreased but the ground

level issue has increased due to its depletion. Ground water is a source of

recharge for lakes, rivers and wetlands. It is an important component in

many industrial processes. Ground water resource is also a limited resource

but it can also be recharged. Ground water is naturally recharged but this

recharging process is very slow. We should also have to use nature based

approach to conserve water.

Dr. Rashid Aftab:

Dr. Rashid Aftab, Director RIPP highlights the emerging scenario of water crises in Pakistan. Water is not only an essential building block of life, it is more than just essential to quench thirst or protect health; water is vital for creating jobs and supporting economic, social, and human development. Environmental damage, together with climate change, is driving the water-related crises. Floods, drought and water pollution are all made worse by degraded vegetation, soil, rivers and lakes. Today, there are many people living without a safe water supply close to home, spending countless hours queuing or trekking to distant sources, and coping with the health impacts of using contaminated water. The United Nations established a sustainable development goal of improving access to safe water and sanitation facilities. Sustainable Development Goal 6 – ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030 - includes a target to halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and increase water recycling and safe reuse.

Discussion and Dialogue

Impacts of Climate Change on Water Stress:

Climate change is one of the factors that influence future water stress,

demographic, socio-economic and technological changes possibly play more

important roles at most time horizons and in most regions. In the 2050s,

differences in the population projections would have a greater impact on the

number of people living in water-stressed river basins than the differences in the

climate scenarios. The number of people living in water-stressed river basins

would increase significantly. It should be noted that, using the per capita water

availability indicator, climate change would appear to reduce overall water stress

at the global level. This is because increases in runoff are concentrated heavily in

the most populous parts of the world, mainly in eastern and south-eastern Asia.

However, given that this increased runoff occurs mainly during high-flow seasons,

it may not alleviate dry-season problems if the extra water is not stored; and

would not ease water stress in other regions of the world. Changes in seasonal

patterns and an increasing probability of extreme events may offset the effects of

increased annual available freshwater resources and demographic changes. If

water stress is assessed not only as a function of population and climate change

but also of changing water use, the importance of non-climatic drivers (income,

water-use efficiency, water productivity, and industrial production) increases.

Income growth sometimes has a larger impact than population growth on

increasing water use and water stress. The greater availability of water due to

increased precipitation is the principal cause of decreasing water stress, while

growing water withdrawals are the principal cause of increasing water stress.

Future climate change impacts related to freshwater which threaten the

sustainable development of the affected regions:

Conclusion:

In Pakistan, we are facing crises of water nowadays and entering in the era where

we facing water scarcity. On one hand there is a 5 times decline in per capital

water availability and the other hand 73% water supplied for drinking purposes is

unfit for drinking. According to SDGs, 38% people in Pakistan access to the clean

drinking water. There is an increase in demand due to population growth, and

infrequent rainfall is aggravating the situation day by day. Insufficient reservoir is

also one of the cause of water crises. Perpetual silting of water reservoirs, lakes,

canals, rivers and waterways is one of the major reasons of shrinking water

storage capacity. Further the main consumer of water which is agriculture (about

94%) has to pursue a demand driven approach instead of supply driven approach

in accordance with the crop water requirements. Ground water is a good

dependable source that we have to conserve for the future generation through

effective recharge mechanism.

On one hand we have to increase the storage capacity by manifold and on the

other hand water conservation, losses and usage have to be addressed.

Way Forward:

Primary focus should be on the root causes of climate change and climate

science policy.

Irrigation pattern should be updated in a way that water intensive crop can

be grown in order to conserve water.

We should raise voice on National Water Policy and as early as possible this

policy should be approved and implemented.

Ground water use should be efficient.

End users and youth should be engaged in different water projects.

We should focus on demand management of water rather than the supply.

Dams should be build in a way to conserve flood water.

Dams should be built in monsoon regions where we can conserve more

water.

Awareness campaigns should be organized.

Approach should be Nature Based in order to conserve water.

Supply of safe drinking water and provision of sanitation services to

overcome health hazards.

Press Coverage

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