Is building more dams the solution to Pakistan’s water crisis?

Water is an indispensable element for all creatures and for our earth as a whole. It is extremely important that an agricultural country should have enough water to support its food security and to ensure sustainable development. Unfortunately, according to the IMF report, Pakistan ranks third among countries most affected by water scarcity. Likewise, last year, the Pakistan council of research in water resources (PCRWS) warned that the country might run dry by 2025 if the authorities do not take immediate action. On the other hand, national water policy for 2018-19 doesn’t give any single or specific immediate solution to the particular problem rather it says that “this plan recognizes the need to introduce appropriate measures, reforms and knowledge-based interventions to make water infrastructure and management more effective and suitable” (Planning commission, 2018). The same plan also provides multiples strategies and development projects (within the allocated amount of Rs64, 625 million) to overcome the issue of water scarcity. Meanwhile, our government, with the support of the judiciary, prioritized only one relevant development project, construction of two mega-dams, and claims that this initiative would be the best solution.

 There are ample of factors that are inextricably linked with the water crisis. These factors include a huge population, massive urbanization, climate change, lack of management, political constraints, etc. Firstly, population growth and rapid urbanization: One report shows that “the 2017 census data changes the water availability equation altogether making our annual per capita freshwater around 850 cubic meters; it puts us in seriously water-scarce countries’ basket”. Likewise, our country is urbanizing at a 3% annual rate fastest in South Asia which means greater pressure on all urban centers, particularly Karachi, Lahore, and other metropolitan cities. Secondly, the impact of climate change: In the past several years Pakistan has witnessed a number of floods and long spells of drought, which are the direct result of climate change. There is a direct relationship between temperature increment and water demands. It is precisely because of this reason that climate change will likely contribute to increasing Pakistan’s rain pattern which means we would be having more rain but for a shorter time thus causing more water scarcity problems. So it becomes obvious that the aforementioned issues worth the attention of concern authorities prior to making any decision regarding the water problems. It never meant that the government and the responsible institutions are not sincere instead it is about the practical approaches in solving various interrelated problems that lead to the water crisis.   

   According to the national water plan, “an amount of Rs33,481 million (52% of total water sector allocation) has been proposed during 2018-19 for construction of large/medium dams (including Rs23,680 million for Daimer Bhasha dam) and Rs7,85 million for small/check and delay actions dams in all over Pakistan”. On the contrary, the total cost of only the Daimer Bhasha dam is estimated to be around Rs1,450 billion ($2.6 billion), while the economy of Pakistan has gone from bad to worse. Despite this harsh reality, the entire focus, regarding the development project, is on the construction of two mega-dams at any cost. One of the concerned intellectuals rightly pointed out that this particular contradictory behavior compels a common citizen to ask some basic but important questions: ‘Would dams control pollution? Would they fix wasteful irrigation practices? Would they help curb corrupt practices? Would they help to manage the excess water supply of monsoon? Would they control the increasing population of cities? Is it environment-friendly practice or against nature?’ Moreover, building dams is not only costly but also requires a long time, three to five years. Most people, partly because of the lack of knowledge and partly because of state propaganda, believe that dams are inevitable for water storage. In reality, it is something different. There are three different types of water storage: glaciers, groundwater storage, surface water storage (through dams). Surface storage is the most expensive, as mentioned above, and wasteful because of evaporative and seepage losses as well as financial and environmental costs. Groundwater storage, unlike the surface, is the most efficient and demand-responsive. The efficiency of the latter method can be gauged via its application in developed countries like the United States. Secondly, the proponents of the dams’ project argue that Pakistan’s (currently) water demand is higher than the annual flow. This may be true for the long run but currently, the total inflow exceeds the demand as this is what one research work suggests. While discussing the given issue in India, Arundhati Roy writes that “the dam-building industry in the First World is in trouble and out of work. So it’s exported to the Third World in the name of Development Aid, along with their other waste, like old weapons, superannuated aircraft carriers, and banned pesticides.” Also, it is important to keep in mind that dams do not create water; the only store whatever there is and thereby contribute to problems like floods, waterlogging, salinity, the spread of diseases, etc. The size of big dams such as Kalabagh or Daimer- Bhasha dam requires enough water. One senior journalist rightly said that “If one cannot fill a dam for 75% of the time over a decade, how does that make that dam financially or functionally viable?”

Finally, to be more precise, the water crisis is urgent and needs to be addressed properly. Few projects (dam construction), which in itself involve many contradictions, cannot be the ultimate solution. We must have to have a holistic approach based on scientific findings. The need of the time is to find cheaper and more efficient methods, which again requires multifaceted initiatives within the context of environmental challenges.