Effective strategy needed to overcome water scarcity

Islamabad
To mark the World Water Day (WWD) 2015, the Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform the Government of Pakistan together with multi-stakeholders Friday organised a conference focusing on this year’s global theme, ‘Water and Sustainable Development -- Role of Youth for Sustainable Water Resource Management’.
The conference aims at sensitisation of key stakeholders on critical water issues and challenges; engaging stakeholders especially youth; advocating with the Government of Pakistan for approval of National Water Policy and building consensus for the adoption of Islamabad Water Day Declaration 2015’.
The conference was organised in collaboration with World Youth Parliament of Water (WYPW), Unesco, Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Pakistan Water Partnership (PWP), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Economic Cooperation Organization Science Foundation (ECOSF), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Unicef, FAO-UN, UN-HABITAT, Plan International, Muslim Aid, Helping Hand for Relief and Development, GLOF Pakistan, UNDP, RSPN, ICARDA, Riphah International University and Water Aid.
Bart Devos, President of World Youth Parliament for Water said “Access to clean water and sanitation as well as water scarcity, are among the most pressing challenges for my generation. The creation of Pakistan Youth Parliament for Water will contribute to unlocking the potential of Pakistani young people as solution provider for the water problems”
Speaking at the inaugural session, Federal Minister of Planning Development and Reforms Prof. Ahsan Iqbal, said that water is the key element for the socio-economic development of any country. He said that we must not only view sustainability as a problem of science, engineering, or economics; it is also founded on values, ethics, and the equal contributions of different cultures.
He also emphasised that Pakistan is blessed with human capital in the form of youth, which comprises about 50 per cent of the population and engaging youth for integrated water resource management must be a foremost part of our water resources strategy.
While quoting quotation of Dr. Mahbub ul Haq, he said “Sustainable development is a question of quality of life for the rich countries but is question of life for the poor countries”.
In her opening remarks, Vibeke Jensen, Representative/ Director, Unesco Islamabad said that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), agreed in 2000, aimed to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic
sanitation between 1990 and 2015.
She highlighted that a total of 748 million people worldwide still do not have access to improved drinking
water sources. She also mentioned that existing indicators do not address the issue of safety and reliability of water supplies.
While highlighting the critical role that youth can play in participating in developing their countries in a sustainable manner she also stressed the need for academia to emphasize on the importance of water and conduct
research on optimum and sustainable water use and reuse. She mentioned that Unesco Supports research and concrete projects on water related issues through its International Hydrological Programme (IHP), which is the only intergovernmental programme of the UN system devoted to water research, water resource’ management, and education and capacity building.
She added that Unesco Category II institutes and Unesco chairs on Water, spread all over the globe are producing innovative techniques for sustainable water management.
Dr. Rashid Aftab, Director, Public policy highlighted the issues related to water
policy and its implementation strategies and associated challenges.