!DAMN WHICH DAMS?

PAKISTAN : The water crisis in Pakistan is worsening with each passing day, and the increasing population growth along with drastic-changes in climate have only added to the alarming situation.

In a recently released report, the International Monetary Fund [IMF] has pointed out that that the countries facing water shortages, Pakistan takes the third worst position.

If one looks at Pakistan's water availability  and usage, studies reveal that  95 percent of our water is being used for agriculture, while industrial and domestic sectors use two percent each.

Within the domestic sectors, 35 percent of the water supply is not included in the count. The usage also account for  energy production  and supply of said energy to the national grid.

When one looks at the  energy contribution through water resources, the contribution of hydel contribution to the national grid stands at 29 percent. Of this contribution, a majority is being contributed Tarbela Dam followed by Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project and Mangla Dam.

In one of the studies conducted by  Sustainable Development Policy Institute [SDPI], the following water challenges will lead to detrimental impacts on our economy and social fabric.

These include depletion  of  forest resources  leading to increased soil erosion,  silting of reservoirs and increased variability  of flows, depletion of surface storage capacities by silting and-

Groundwater resources with sharply declining water table in Baluchistan, and high population growth rates and high rate of migrants towards  urban centres.

With the exhaustion of water resources leading to the current energy crisis, a number of challenges and concerns arise regarding the shortage of  electricity and in the country.

Key reasons for this shortage though are the inability of responsible companies to recover full economic cost from the consumers, the existence of administrative line losses, and the high cost of maintaining subsidies [to finance energy sector deficit].

The honor and serving of the latest Operational Research on Pakistan's looming Water Crisis continues to Part 2. The World Students Society thanks author and researcher Syed Shujaat Ahmed [Sustainable Development Policy Institute].