Water sustainability network to be established

SUKKUR: Dr Tariq Banuri, Associate Director of the US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W), said that in order to seek sustainable solutions to water challenges in Pakistan, a network called the Pakistan Water Sustainability Network (PWSN) will be established by the USPCAS-W to be housed at the Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUET), Jamshoro.  

This he said at a meeting with the faculty and senior staff of USPCAS-W at the MUET on Friday.   Dr Banuri said that this network will work for water sector challenges and its potential solutions in Pakistan by intervening in academia, media, research and development (R&D) organizations and water data sources. 

He said that the PWSN would be one of the most diverse networks of the country consisting of academia, water experts, policymakers, media practitioners, civil society groups, industry and people from the corporate sector. 

The network would focus on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 which is on water and sanitation.  He said that the network would also pave the way for forging partnerships to advance the quality of water research and higher education in Pakistan, including strengthening of science-policy interface through multi-stakeholder consultations.  Later on, Dr Tariq Banuri also called on the Vice Chancellor of the MUET, Dr Mohammad Aslam Uqaili, in the latter’s office where they exchanged ideas of mutual interest and thanked the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for its support for the USPCAS-W. 

On this occasion, Dr Bakshal Khan Lashari, Project Director of USPCAS-W, gave a briefing about the progress and performance of the Center while Dr Mohammad Aslam Chaudhry briefed Dr Banuri on the progress on PWDR and Dr Kamran Ansari, Deputy Director of USPCAS-W, briefed on the MUET Clean Water Project.