Rampant groundwater use to make energy demand pressing: ADB

KARACHI: Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday rang alarm bells on the rampant groundwater use in Pakistan, counting the country along Bangladesh, India, and Nepal which together annually consume $3.78 billion worth of energy on the abstraction.

“Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan annually pump a total of about 210–250 cubic kilometres of groundwater, using about 21 million–23 million pumps,” said the ADB, in its report Asian Water Development Outlook 2016. “The total energy used in these countries for lifting groundwater is estimated to be 68.6 billion kilowatt-hours per year, costing $3.78 billion.” 

The report, in its third edition, said more than half of the groundwater withdrawn was for domestic water supply, and globally it provided 25 to 40 percent of the world’s drinking water.  “Of the world’s 15 biggest abstractors of groundwater, seven are in the Asia and Pacific region,” it said. 

The report, citing a recent study on energy use on large-scale irrigation projects in the Punjab, said while total crop production in the province increased 31 percent over the past 18 years (since 1998), direct energy intensity for agriculture rose 80 percent. 

Direct energy use was driven mainly by groundwater pumping (61 percent of energy used in agriculture) and around 20 percent of the province’s energy (electricity and petroleum products) was used in the agriculture sector.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations said more than a third of the world’s irrigated area was served by groundwater. Of this, a staggering 70 percent was in Asia, with India and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) being the biggest consumers of this fragile resource, followed by Pakistan.

“Groundwater use will increase by 30 percent, with the PRC, India, and Pakistan accounting for 86 percent of total groundwater abstraction in the region,” the report said. “Such rampant expansion in use and its impact on declining water tables, water quality, and the continued demand for energy will become more pressing as climate variability impacts further on surface water resources.” 

The ADB said water resources were inherently linked to economic development and poverty reduction.  It said sound management of resources leads to economic growth and social development.

Citing reports, the bank said water insecurity costs the global economy about $500 billion annually and was a total drag on the world economy of one percent or more of global gross domestic product.

“Superimposed on these stark facts are the challenges to provide sufficient resources to maintain environmental sustainability—within the confines of climate change impacts and increasing climate variability,” the report said. “Continued expansion of groundwater use, its impact on declining water tables, demand for energy, and the cost to the power sector are highly relevant for the Asian region where energy does not reflect the true cost of supply.”