Aijaz Ali Mangi
Engineer, Traveler, and writer.
During opening remarks at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly on 23rd September 2021, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a world on the “edge of an abyss”. This is true, the world has never been so divided and engulfed in multiple crises as it is today. Among other highly significant issues, the depletion of freshwater is an imminent threat to human life.
Water covers 70% of our planet, and we think it is always plentiful. However, freshwater—the water we drink, bathe in, irrigate our lands with, is really rare. Only 3% of the world’s water is freshwater, and two-thirds is unusable. According to studies, more than one billion people worldwide lack access to fresh water, and nearly three billion find water scarce for at least one month of the year. Our ecosystem has gone too polluted. Rivers, lakes, and aquifers are drying up. Many cities of the world can face zero-water situations like Cape Town.
Pakistan is not an exception, heavily populated, economically stressed, the politically unusable-The country can face zero water situation. We cut forests at the fastest rate and mar the quality of life. In the name of tourism, the current government has allowed building the mega cement structures in northern areas, shelving aside the concerns of environmental experts. Unbridled human activities in the regions of glaciers and waterfalls will punish us. The punishment is the scarcity of water and rising temperatures. Freshwater resources are decreasing at an unparalleled scale. Pakistan’s per capita water availability had dropped from 5060 cubic meters per annum in 1951 to only 908 cubic meters in 2019. More than four thousand cubic meter reduction in just six decades is an alarming rate. If we remained aloof, rivers and lakes will be dried forever. Aqua life will be history. The Hindu Kush Assessment Report (2018) states that around 33% of glaciers will melt by 2100 — around 14,000 glaciers on average. Ice loss of this scale will have serious consequences for millions of people, resulting in worsening food insecurity, irreparable economic losses, and intensified natural disasters. We have already witnessed the deadly damages of the floods.
The Indus Delta is a breathing line for the local communities. Our delta is facing threats from two fronts. Rising sea levels and construction of dams. As of now, more than 92% of the Indus Delta has disappeared, and freshwater is inaccessible to local communities on the coastal lines. This is a huge loss and will take many decades to recover, even we start from today.
Enforcing the construction of dams without the consent of the provinces will do nothing but weaken the national fabric. PTI government has never been interested to open coordinated and collaborative forums as Council for common interests to discuss the issues and give a chance to representatives of the province to talk. Sindh and Balochistan have grievances over the water sharing formula implemented by the Indus River System Authority, which fails to honor the Water Apportionment Act (1991). The federal government opened another front of the confrontation between Karachi and Islamabad. That is mega-developments on two Iceland of Sindh without giving an ear to the grievance of the local people and provincial government. This attitude widens the trust deficit.
If Pakistan is to mainstream the idea of water conservation then it needs new narratives- new campaigns to unite the nation. The narrative is based on sincerity. We need the amplify the consequences of the water shortage and eco-pollution. Public awareness is the cornerstone to success. If the public is not convinced then it is impossible to win the game. Use water wisely-can be one narrative. Just tapping off the taps when giving brush to teeth, we can save 8 gallons of water per month. One reason why Cape Town managed to alleviate its acute water crisis was through a collective water conservation effort, people played a very positive role. Public awareness programs made an effective impact. Our curriculum must have lessons on water conservation and this starts from an early age. We must do everything in our capacity to mitigate the water crisis. Every drop of water has a value.