Speakers call for free availability of clean, safe water for everyone

ISLAMABAD  –  Policymakers, researchers, farm­ers, and various stakeholders have unanimously called for the free availability of clean and safe wa­ter for everyone, coupled with sustainable usage for agricultural practices. 

The conference, themed “Wa­ter, People, and Equity: Building a Better Future for All,” took place here on Monday, organised by the Indus Consortium, an organisa­tion dedicated to environmental and humanitarian causes, with the support of Oxfam and the Pa­kistan Agriculture Research Coun­cil (PARC).

Participants, including repre­sentatives from academia, tail-end farmers, and government depart­ments such as Indus River Sys­tem Authority (IRSA), Sindh Water Sector and Barrage Improvement, Planning and Development (P&D), Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Au­thority (SIDA), Punjab Irrigation and Drainage Authority (PIDA), and other stakeholders from across the country, welcomed the Sindh Water Policy. They urged its swift implementation and ex­pressed hopes for the develop­ment of similar policies in other provinces, with a particular em­phasis on Punjab.

The Sindh Water Policy, largely shaped by input from tail-end and women farmers, is mostly based on recommendation to the gov­ernment by the Indus Consortium. The organisation worked closely with farmer communities at three canals in Sindh and Punjab: Akram Wah in Sindh, and Dajal Canal and Rangpur Canals in Punjab.

Zarif Iqbal Khero, Chief Engi­neer, and Ex-Secretary Irrigation Sindh presented the session on Sindh Water Policy, the role of civ­il society and Indus Consortium, said that there was a programme for the implementation of the Sindh Water Policy and it would be improved. He said that sustain­able management of water was a part of the policy. He said Punjab was provided more water than its share in water accord while Sindh faced water scarcity issues. He said Punjab developed more ca­nals and distributaries. 

He said Sindh had issues of sea intrusion as well, as there was low discharge of water to Indus Delta. He suggested that indigenous peo­ple should be included in the pol­icy-making and development pro­cesses. 

Mehmood Nawaz Shah, Presi­dent of the Sindh Abadgar Board, highlighted that the tail-end is­sue wasn’t confined to distributar­ies’ levels but extended to the pro­vincial level, with Sindh suffering due to its position in the tail-end. He stressed the importance of ad­dressing three critical water-relat­ed issues: drinking water, irriga­tion water, and floodwater. Shah emphasised the need for strategic flood management and policy im­plementation.

Dr Shahid Maqsood Gill, mem­ber Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), presided over the second session on “Water for Cli­mate, Resilience, and Environ­ment.” He emphasised the neces­sity of considering groundwater alongside surface water, noting ex­cessive pumping in both Northern and Southern Punjab. Dr Gill ad­vocated for policies that promote groundwater recharge and the mechanisation of industrial water treatment.

Mohammad Ehsan Leghari, member Sindh, Indus River Sys­tem Authority (IRSA), highlighted the environmental and econom­ic impact of discharging wastewa­ter into fresh water. Leghari point­ed out a yearly loss of $2 billion due to the unavailability of water in the Indus Delta, stressing the responsibility to treat wastewater before its introduction into the In­dus.

Dr Rasool Bux Mahar, Vice Chan­cellor of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University of Technology and Skill Development (BBSUTSD), discussed the contamination of ground and surface waters. He suggested utilising treated waste­water for industries, emphasising natural methods of treatment.

Nazeer Ahmed Memon, Project Coordinator Directorate of Sindh Water Sector and Barrages Im­provement, Government of Sindh, acknowledged the Indus Consor­tium’s contributions to water gov­ernance reflected in the Sindh Wa­ter Policy draft. He urged action against climate change, emphasis­ing the limited time available.

Asim Jaffry, Country Pro­gramme Lead at Fair Finance Pakistan, spoke about the inad­equacy of climate financing re­lated to water issues. He criti­cised the lack of commitment from wealthy nations in fulfilling their promises, stating that only 3 percent of climate financing ad­dresses water-related concerns despite 90 percent of climate is­sues being water-related.

Dr Ghulam Zakir Hassan Sial, Di­rector IRI, Irrigation Department, Government of Punjab Lahore, dis­cussed the complexities of manag­ing groundwater resources within geological boundaries.