The Water Crisis Implications in Pakistan | Daily Writeup | Opinions
The following article, “What are the Implications of the Water Crisis in Pakistan?“, is written by Baber Ali, a student of Sir Syed Kazim Ali. Moreover, the article is written on the same pattern, taught by Sir to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. Sir Kazim has uploaded his students’ solved past paper questions so other thousands of aspirants can understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Water is a critical element for the life on earth. Its availability indicates the survival of life, and its scarcity is a threat to life. As think tanks assume, World War IV would be initiated over water. Thus, every country needs sufficient water to flourish socially and economically. However, nothing hurts a country the way a water crisis does, as it ruins the country’s socio-economic progress. Sadly, the same holds true for Pakistan; the country is ranked 14th among the world’s 17 high water-stress countries. Currently, the country has been facing the social and economic repercussions of the crisis, but the situation might worsen if the crisis is not addressed properly. Among the foresighted implications of the issue, alleviation in the disease ratio, increment in the death toll by water-borne illness, occupation of the agricultural land by the Arabian Sea, and threat to interprovincial harmony stand atop. Moreover, the country might face a cut in energy production and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. However, the water crisis can be alleviated from Pakistan by adopting specific measures. Indeed, constructing a strong national water policy, recycling the wastewater, banning flood irrigation methods used in agriculture, and adopting water crisis as a top priority component in climate change response plans can significantly contribute to cure the country from the menace of the water crisis. This article sheds light upon the implications of the water crisis for Pakistan and ways to tackle the issue.
To begin with, water is essential for a nation’s social and economic well-being. It is strenuous for a state to survive without adequate water. Countries with water scarcity cannot achieve social and economic stability or bring about agricultural and industrial revolutions. Despite the fact, a country’s agriculture sector entirely depends upon the availability of water; nonetheless, its scarcity results in food shortage, causing food import from other countries and afflicting the country economically.
Currently, Pakistan is suffering from a frightening water scarcity situation. The availability of fresh water in the country has dropped to a minimum level. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan’s per capita annual water availability has reduced from 1500 cubic meters in 2009 to 1017 cubic meters in 2021. The drop-down in water availability is an alarming sign that the country needs to take sagacious measures against the issue before it gets too late. Thus, the government has a deteriorating water shortage.
Moving forward, the country could be listed as water-scarce if the issue is not adequately addressed. Moreover, it would bring a plethora of implications for the government to deal with. The first one in the row is the widespread of the diseases countrywide. Water-borne diseases are rising exponentially in the country, and their rise is hampering people’s health. According to the reports of the United Nations (UN), “water-borne illness afflicts one million people every year in Pakistan.” Therefore, the diseases cause a huge population to suffer health issues. Adding to it, as per the Pakistan Medical Association PMA, 40 per cent of the hospitalized cases in Pakistan are attributed to illnesses spread by polluted water. The most common water-borne diseases that have spread in the country are cholera, typhoid, diarrhea, and hepatitis A and E. Hence, the rise in diseases may put the nation in a continuous instability dilemma.
Second, the intake of contaminated water might increase the country’s mortality ratio. Every year, millions of people get afflicted by the breakout of water-related diseases, and hundreds of people fail to recover from the effects of the diseases and, as a consequence, lose their lives. According to the United Nations Human Rights Special Procedures Report, “Every day, 700 children under the age of 5 die from water-related diseases in South Asia.” With every passing year, the death toll has been increasing, and Pakistan has remained the most affected state by the issue in South Asia. Moreover, according to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, in 2017, 2.5 million deaths due to diarrhoea were reported in Pakistan. Thus, the issue can further deteriorate the country socially and economically by depriving it of its human capital.
Third, agriculture is the backbone of the country’s economy. As per the statistics of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics PBS, agriculture contributes 24 per cent of Pakistan’s GDP. Additionally, a vast majority of the country’s population is related to agriculture. Sadly, due to the non-flow of downstream water, enormous agricultural lands have been occupied by the Arabian Sea, and the intrusion might result in the loss of a sufficient amount of GDP. According to Nuzhat Khan, the director general of Pakistan’s National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), “2.2 million acres of fertile land have been devoured by the Arabian Sea since 1990.” On the other hand, the increasing salinity in the fertile land, declining tap-water levels, and climate change are already shrinking the crop yield, resulting in the least revenue generation. As a result, the country’s agriculture exports can collapse.
Likewise, the country can face a wave of food shortage due to a high gap in demand and supply. According to the PBS, Pakistan’s annual population growth rate is 1.9 per cent while the food resources are limited. The population growth burdens the country’s resources; as a result, the country imports food from the international market. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan has imported food items worth 392 billion rupees in the first two months of the fiscal year 2022-23. Along with food insecurity, the country also suffers from the declivity of the Forex reserves. Thus, the condition of food security might worsen.
Next, the water crisis has threatened the harmony among the provinces to such an extent that the country can disintegrate into small fragments. Fair water distribution among the provinces is crucial for upholding the country’s peace, amity, and resilience. However, conflict has emerged among the provinces due to the worsening threat of water scarcity. Moreover, the Water Accord 1991 violation has fueled the fire of dispute. The accord guarantees the provision of a due share of water to each province; in contrast, the federation has failed to provide so due to the paucity of water in dams. Consequently, the state’s harmony would remain afflicted unless the accord is exercised without any violation, turning the dilemma of the future total collapse in reality.
Finally, the country might face dire economic declivity repercussions due to the worsening condition of the water crisis. The country’s economy could collapse if the issue is not tackled with strong practices. According to the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), “Water scarcity and water-borne diseases result in a loss of up to 1.44 per cent of the GDP.” Due to the untamed issue, the country spends billions of rupees on the purchase of medicines, vaccines, and ventilators for patients affected by water-borne diseases. In short, the crisis has drained the country’s huge amount of money and can put it on the verge of default.
However, all hope is not lost, as even the darkest clouds have a silver lining. By implementing the following suggestions, Pakistan can overcome the implications of the water crisis and prosper at breakneck speed. Initially, the country must formulate a strong national water policy and implement it in its true spirit. The policy must comprise specific, pragmatic measures, such as restricting water theft from water canals, ensuring equal water distribution to each province, and preserving delta areas by regularly providing sufficient water supplies to dried ones. It would not only make the country preserve water but also save its precious fertile lands, giving food to the nation. Next, the country should construct water treatment plants on a large scale in every city. It would drastically reduce the wastage of water. Hence, the treated water would be used for domestic, agricultural, and industrial use, reducing groundwater consumption.
Besides, developed countries have adopted modern irrigation techniques. However, Pakistan still uses outdated irrigation methods, such as flood irrigation. In flood irrigation, a huge amount of water flows in the land to irrigate the crop, resulting in wastage of water; the plants need less water but in frequent periods. The country should adopt drip, sprinkler, and paradoxical agriculture techniques. The later irrigation systems consume 80 per cent of water compared to the former. Lastly, the country should include water scarcity as a priority component in climate change response plans. This step would make the political elites aware of the gravity of the issue, and the elites` participation in the problem can be tackled easily.
In a robust analysis, Pakistan is currently trapped in the turmoil of water crisis. Sadly, the crisis is increasing daily, and this ongoing crisis is ruining the country’s socio-economic fabric. If the situation remains constant, the government will face dire repercussions, such as a breakout of water-borne diseases, food security, energy insecurity, economic declivity, loss of fertile lands, and rising conflicts among provinces. However, as every evil comes with a remedy, formulating a robust national water policy, recycling wastewater, banning flood irrigation used in agriculture, and treating water scarcity as an emergency issue would curb the roots of the crisis in the country.
In conclusion, it is the need of the hour to address the water crisis in Pakistan. Pakistan’s social life and economic prosperity would be at stake if the country did not pay attention to the anathema of the water crisis. Among the foresighted implications of the issue, increased mortality ratio, dire economic repercussions, and food shortage sit atop. However, as every tunnel has a light at its end, the country’s crisis could be overcome by formulating a strong national water framework, reusing wastewater, and adopting modern irrigation techniques in agriculture.
CSS Solved Past Papers’ Essays
Looking for the last ten years of CSS and PMS Solved Essays and want to know how Sir Kazim’s students write and score the highest marks in the essays’ papers? Then, click on the CSS Solved Essays to start reading them.
CSS Solved Essays
CSS Solved General Science & Ability Past Papers
Want to read the last ten years’ General Science & Ability Solved Past Papers to learn how to attempt them and to score high? Let’s click on the link below to read them all freely. All past papers have been solved by Miss Iqra Ali & Dr Nishat Baloch, Pakistan’s top CSS GSA coach having the highest score of their students. General Science & Ability Solved Past Papers
