Experts discuss challenges in water governance

Islamabad : Experts from Pakistan and China at an online International conference discussed practical challenges in water governance for their respective countries.

The conference was organised by Pakistan Research Centre for a Community with Shared Future.

It was aimed at providing a premier interdisciplinary platform for relevant stakeholders and experts to discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and practical challenges in water governance in Pakistan and China, Gwadar Pro’s reported.

Maryam Raza, Deputy Director, Pakistan Research Centre for a Community with Shared Future in her opening remarks highlighted that the conference theme holds a lot of significance in this period as rapid population growth, fast urbanization, increasing economic development, and climate change have led to a global water supply crisis.

She said, “it is important to learn from our neighbouring countries like China about their achievements in water governance and related sectors.”

Prof. Youwei Qin, Associate Professor, Hohai University, Nanjing, China mentioned that due to the impact of climate change, Pakistan and China are at risk of droughts, floods, etc. It is difficult to deal with flood problems of rivers that are in the residential areas with a huge population.

Dr. Zhong-kai Feng, Professor of College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, China mentioned that China has made great efforts and achieved success in addressing water resources problems by using many effective engineering measures.

He was of the view that the useful measures may provide comprehensive references for Pakistan’s agricultural and water policy reforms as well.

The conference was moderated by Laraib Fatima Hassan, Communication Executive, Pakistan Research Centre and was attended by 40 participants from Pakistan and China.