Experts warn of severe water crisis in Pakistan

MULTAN: Speakers at a seminar warned that Pakistan is facing a severe groundwater crisis, with rapidly depleting underground water reserves. Factors such as frequent water wastage, over-extraction for agriculture, population growth, urbanization, and climate change exacerbate the situation, raising concerns about future water scarcity, particularly in Punjab province, where the crisis is most critical. This alarming trend puts a significant portion of the population at risk of lacking access to sufficient water for basic needs.

The seminar, titled “Save Water, Secure Life: Water Scarcity in Pakistan,” was organised by the Emerson University Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences. The experts, including educationists and environmentalists, emphasised the urgent need to curb water wastage and adopt sustainable solutions to the growing water crisis. The event brought together academics, students, and environmentalists to discuss the issue and explore actionable strategies.

Emerson University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Ramzan praised the initiative, highlighting the university’s commitment to environmental awareness. He stressed the importance of water conservation, noting that cleanliness and environmental preservation are core principles in Islam. He urged citizens to take responsibility for protecting natural resources, particularly water, to secure the future for coming generations. He also emphasised the need for forest conservation and sustainable water management to ensure a stable future.

Ali Imran Malik, Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and an Emerson University alumnus, shared alarming insights into Pakistan’s water crisis. He revealed that Pakistan ranks 14th among the 17 countries facing extremely high water risk globally. He attributed the crisis to factors such as rapid population growth, urbanization, inadequate water storage, poor management, and climate change, which has led to irregular rainfall, rising temperatures and increased droughts.

Malik also pointed out that Pakistan discharges two-thirds of its available water into the Arabian Sea annually due to insufficient storage and mismanagement. He outlined several causes of the crisis, including rapid population growth and urbanization, increasing water demand; lack of adequate dams and reservoirs for water storage; climate change disrupting rainfall patterns and raising temperatures; overuse of renewable water resources; outdated irrigation systems and poor water management; pollution reducing access to clean water and inconsistent water policies and mismanagement of distribution across provinces.

Malik stressed that only 36% of the global population has access to safe drinking water, underscoring the need for Pakistan to take immediate action to avert a water catastrophe. He proposed several solutions, including policy reforms, wastewater recycling, modern irrigation techniques, water metering systems, and public awareness campaigns to promote responsible water usage.The seminar concluded with a call for collective responsibility in addressing water scarcity.