Action needed to avert water scarcity

If natural low water supply, high population growth and inappropriate management are not rapidly addressed, Pakistan could become a water-deficient country in the next five years, water experts said at a gathering in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday. "Development partners should seek ways to introduce the latest water conservation technology and share information about successful models from other countries to improve efficiency," Asif Khan, director-general of Pakistan's Environment Protection Agency (PEPA), said. The two-day meeting, to mark World Water Day, was organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the German development agency GTZ and the French Embassy in Pakistan. At present, Pakistan is classed as a "water-stressed" nation, having about 1,200 cubic metres per capita water availability for a population of almost 150 million. "But the country could slip below the water-deficient level of below 1,000 cubic metres [per capita] per year by 2010 onwards if the current situation prevails," Sonia Lioret, an environmental expert, told IRIN. According to water professionals, rapid and unsustainable development has disturbed some major watersheds and river plains, causing disruption of natural hydrological cycles and loss of land productivity. "In the coming years, Pakistan will have to cope with increasing pressures on its water resources, further complicated by the increase in the levels of pollutants," Faisal Farooq Khan, head of development at Pakistan's branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said. Khan further shared a detailed programme for conservation and development of the Indus basin that feeds Pakistan's five main rivers. Water experts at the gathering emphasised the need for immediate intervention both at policy and management level to deal with increasing water shortages. This year, World Water Day marks the start of the UN's international decade for action 2005-2015, known as 'Water for Life'. The action plan is aimed at bringing safe water and basic sanitation into homes and schools worldwide by 2015. It also aims to slash preventable child deaths, which occur mainly due to unsafe drinking water, by two-thirds, according to a press statement from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), released on Tuesday.