Changing environment and Pakistan’s crises

Haroon Baloch

January 07, 2011

The pace of development in South Asia has always remained questionable, mainly attributed to outsized populations. China, the world’s largest population, neighbors the second largest India, as well as the seventh largest population Pakistan. Environmental concerns of the region are reciprocal to their populations. Developed industrial countries are considered responsible for the international environmental crises, while developing countries bear the brunt of negative consequences as they lack resources and capabilities to control this grave problem.  In Pakistan, pity natural resource management over years and high population growth exacerbated environmental menace. Yet having strategically important location in the region, the country faces serious threats in terms of food security and energy crises mainly due to shortage of water, an issue which is drastically ambiguous. Sufficiency in agriculture production highly depends on the water of Indus River in Pakistan that irrigates major agricultural lands of Punjab and Sindh provinces. All major or minor crops and their situations are largely dependent on water availability that has always remained a crucial internal setback. Pakistan owns one of the best canal systems in the world, but management of water hinders in distribution of water for best of the crops production. Outdated irrigation methods stayed alive for increased consumption rather wastage of water, instead of modern ways i.e. drip irrigation being invented that not only reduce water consumption to a large extent, but prevents issues of water logging and salinity. Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) has successfully executed trials for such type of irrigation means. “We are sick of using floods of water once available, never bothered to realize the drastic consequences of using water in excess or in the opposed situation when run short of it,” Chairman PARC Dr Zafar Altaf commented while speaking on food security threats. “We are in the process of replacing outdated irrigation means with modern ways, all what farmers have to do is to shift their energies in using and supporting such means; we don’t have shortage of water, management of available water is need of hour,” Dr Altaf adds. Where water management is necessary for food security issue, simultaneously we need to introduce hybrid seeds producing crops that consume less water, and PARC has done that again successfully producing hybrid traits of rice and cotton. PARC, very soon is introducing hybrid seeds to be cultivated for mass production of both crops. “Now agriculture will be not in its traditional areas of South Punjab or Sindh, it will be everywhere in Pakistan, and will surely increase yields,” Dr Zafar Altaf says.  Management of available water is surely one of the options, but water theft by India cannot be ruled out. Pakistan abundantly raised this issue along with other bilateral outstanding issues with India during the last several years that it has been facing shortage in its annual water cache. Indus Water Treaty is being violated by India, but it refuses to admit. Pakistan has concerns over various dams’ constructions underway by India on Indus River that will further reduce annual water cache of Pakistan. Pakistani authorities have also raised concerns in front of international monitors to seek out the problem, but to no avail.  Pakistan is losing its share of water on annual basis that is mounting fears of animosity between Pakistan and India, another issue of instability in the region. Considering the transitional phase of shifting international powers, South Asian countries must also take care of regional interests and ensure they remained intact. In fact, India is prodding environments of the region by violating Indus Water Treaty.  As water theft is amongst the main causatives in energy crisis of Pakistan, similarly management of available water for maximum utility and production of energy is necessary. Now in the country energy crisis has turned into a gigantic one. Where industry of Pakistan is directly affected by electricity shortage, simultaneously agriculture sector has been tremendously hit by less supply of electricity to the tube wells, again causing shortage of water for crops and threat to food security of the country. Construction of small water reservoirs is necessary, but Pakistan needs at least two mega projects completed till 2020 considering increasing energy needs of the country at industrial levels, as well as domestic and commercial usage.  Construction of new water reservoirs seems a realistic approach towards honest management of available water. This will not only minimize threats to food security issue, but also increase production of cheap electricity, which will ultimately lessen the energy crisis. In order to cope with the power crisis, transparency in Electric Supply Companies is again very important. Theft or diversion of electricity in transmission, as well as lack of energy efficiency standards have contributed to Pakistan's high energy and carbon intensities. To increase energy efficiency, the country needs stepping up its use of renewable energy sources to bring electricity to rural areas.  Environmental changes discerned in the last decade have started showing their outcomes on a large scale. The recent floods in Pakistan are one of the major shifts due to environmental changes. Huge destruction is evident, perhaps the worst ever in the flood history of Pakistan, though low cusecs of water in rivers and rains are recorded in comparison with the super flood of 1976 when the first receiver Guddu Barrage in Sindh had over 1.2 million cusecs flow of water.  The question is what are the reasons for such mass destructions? There may be many, but among them one is the shift of monsoon rains from the upper Punjab to the southern part, particularly Seraiki belt. More rains in areas across The Indus River are reciprocal to more destruction primarily due to storms in the river.  Shift in monsoon rainy system furnishes an idea of building a network of small dams in southern Punjab that can generate the capacity of water conservation from the Indus River in rainy seasons, also ensuring decreased underperformance during normal seasons, which will surely improve production of crops.  If we critically look at the flood situation and destruction of Nowshera and adjacent areas, which were largely affected by the waters of Kabul and Kunhar rivers, the need for a relatively huge reservoir is sensed and geographically Pir Pehai site (Kalabagh Dam) is the perfect one. Overflows of Tarbela and Warsak dams that are destroying Nowshera for the second time could be well managed by this reservoir, which will capacitate upkeep of extra waters pouring into the Indus River. Augmentation of water distribution will also be enhanced with this reservoir and surely the production of cheap electricity will increase that will ultimately strengthen industrialization in the country.

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