Drought dangers

A report by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, ‘Drought in Numbers, 2022’, has warned recently that Pakistan is among the 23 countries in danger of facing drought and needs urgent help, notably over the next two years. The report says that four million acres of land need to be rehabilitated across the 23 countries by the year 2050 if we are to escape desertification. Pakistan has been able to rescue 200 square kilometres of land by 2015 but quite obviously, a great deal still remains to be done. A number of households have benefited from the measures already carried out, with the step to combat desertification combined with better health and more facilities for people.

According to the Global Climate Risk Index published by Germanwatch, Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable nations in the world when it comes to the effects of climate change over the past two decades. The global heating patterns we are seeing are not helping. The report notes that in Pakistan, most of the land is arid or semi-arid and special schemes are required to bring it under cultivation. This will not be an easy task. But the fact that Pakistan has made some efforts and reclaimed some land is encouraging. If we can rescue 200 square kilometres we can do better. The largest tree plantation campaign in the world is also the kind of plan which could work – though not in isolation but in combination with other measures, which should include a global effort to utilize water far more carefully and to take care of land which is already arable. To do this, we need to educate people about just how precious water is. Without water, there is simply no possibility of life. Water scarcity in Pakistan has already become an extremely serious issue, with the prevailing water shortage surging to 45 per cent.

Pakistan has a great deal to avoid a further loss of its water resources with much water already used up or badly contaminated. As global climate change accelerates, water shortages will become rampant and Pakistan stands to suffer more than most. We receive very little rainfall – mostly restricted to the short monsoon season – and are mostly dependent on India abiding by the Indus Waters Treaty. As the water needs of both countries have increased, India has undertaken an ambitious programme of dam construction that has allowed it to divert more of the water from the Indus’ tributaries. Our own planning has been poor as multiple dams and hydroelectric projects have laid dormant. It is in this context that a five-member delegation from Pakistan starts its visit to India today for talks on the water dispute between the two countries. Apart from an equitable resolution of the water-sharing system between India and Pakistan, we need a coherent national water policy that can effectively manage what looks like a water-insecure future in the country.