World Water Day: Senator Sherry calls for action on Pakistan’s water woes

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman declared the pressing water crisis in Pakistan a critical issue on World Water Day, urging citizens to consider how essential water is to their very survival.

“On World Water Day, it is time to reflect on how important water is to our very survival in Pakistan, we pay little attention and just use it as an inexhaustible resource owed to us by this earth. But the truth is, it is not,” she said on World Water Day on Friday.

Sherry said Water is a finite resource and we need to understand and act on saving it in our daily lives. “Water policy as theory, and conservation is for ‘others’ to do,” she said. She said that on the occasion, Pakistanis must recognize the vital need for sustainable water management to secure the country’s future.

“Pakistan is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, and according to the United Nations, if timely measures are not taken, Pakistan will suffer from drought by 2025. Freshwater remains accessible within the system; however, Pakistan’s water consumption is utterly unsustainable. In a scenario characterized by high levels of warming and population growth, it is anticipated that water demand will surge by nearly 60% by the year 2047, particularly in the domestic and industrial domains,” she said.

At present, Senator Sherry Rehman continued, Pakistan ranked among the top four countries globally in terms of per capita water consumption. “As per data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan’s per capita annual water availability stood at 1017 cubic meters in 2017, nearing the critical scarcity threshold of 1000 cubic meters,” she said.

In 2023, Senator Sherry Rehman said several urban regions experienced severe water shortages, exacerbated by the challenges surrounding informal water distribution practices. “Pakistan’s water consumption is high by all standards, and both pollution and plastic dumping contribute to its quality,” she said.

The Senator said that to address these challenges, provinces like Sindh need concrete policy frameworks and legal enforcement mechanisms for flood zoning, water conservation, and municipal management.

She said Sindh has already initiated its water policy, but urban areas require comprehensive strategies that navigate the complexities of water governance amidst competing municipal and land-use agencies.

The Senator advocated for investment in water infrastructure, sanitation, and healthcare to address urban flooding. Expensive solutions like desalination can be explored through public-private partnerships considering needs as outlined in the National Adaptation Plan, she said.