Pakistan is victim of mismanagement of resources.
First two decades after independence were spent in accumulation of resources for running of basic infrastructure of country. Railway, post office was intact, and food was abundant for 25 million people. Politics was not supreme and there was no national level effort to handle issue of a newly born state. Since it was new state born out of British colonialism, it had political, economic, administrative constrains.
After 75 years since our creation, we are still in search of political stability, effective economic and governance model .
Our economy is in bad shape, inflation at its peak and unemployment at it worst, social fabric bruised, information disorder in play and more importantly water sacristy and issues of food security.
Water lies at the heart of a nexus of political, social, economic ,agriculture, energy, trade, national security, and human livelihoods, within rich and poor countries alike. Water is not only the indispensible ingredient for life, seen by many as a right, but also indisputably an economic problem . It is a commodity in its own right with no substitute and no alternative, but it is also a crucial connector between humans, our environment and all aspects of our economic system.
Pakistan is water scarce country. Water security issues, whether too little over long periods of time or too much all at once, create emotive reactions from all sectors of society. We are water scared and flooded at the same time. Drought in rural areas of Sindh and Balochistan is persistent issue. People in far flung areas of northern areas and KP do not have enough to eat. Urban areas are more stressed due food scarcity . We must keep in mind the floods of 2010 and 2022, which created havoc in Pakistan .
Water security is the gossamer that links together the web of food, energy, climate, economic growth, and human security challenges that the world economy faces today. Human security needs are never a priority in international agenda. Instead of helping developing countries, they are given loans, which those country consume on less priority agendas.
We have depleted stocks of groundwater at the expense of our future water needs. World bodies have not thought through how our global arrangements should reflect water security in their incentives. Trading patterns are out of sync with water resource levels— three of the world’s top-ten food exporters are water-scarce countries.For these and myriad other reasons, world is now on the verge of water bankruptcy in many places around the world, with no clear way of repaying the debt. In fact, a number of these regional water bubbles are now bursting in many parts of China, Gulf States, Pakistan,India, Mediterranean, the southwestern US, and southern Africa, to name but a few regions. More will follow. The consequences for regional economic and political stability could be serious.
This set of regional challenges becomes a fast-approaching global crisis when placed against future needs for water. As the world economy expands, demand for water will inexorably rise and continue to outpace population growth. This means that there will not be enough water to do all the things we want to do as efficiently as they are done now. Unlike energy, water has no substitutes or alternative. We simply cannot manage water in the future as we have in the past, or else the economic web will collapse. Food shortages are a serious possibility. As our global economy grows, so will its thirst. Water security is not an issue of rich or poor, North or South. There is still enough water for all of us if we keep it clean, use it more wisely, and share it fairly. Governments must engage and lead the communities to overcome this issue. But we also need private enterprise to come forward and help public and governments. Unless it is checked, worsening water security will soon tear into various parts of the global economic system. The increasing volatility in food prices should be treated as early warning signs of what is to come. Our rapidly accelerating demand for food and fiber is meeting changing rainfall and weather patterns, overlain on land assets with increasingly depleted and polluted rivers and groundwater resources. A massive expansion of agricultural land is one option. More crops from much fewer drops is another option. Yet the agricultural sector, particularly in developing countries, often suffers from historically low levels of investment in technology and human capital as well as weak institutions. If we move quickly and together, we can make the needed changes to the system.
If we are to ensure sustained economic growth, human security, and political stability over the next two decades, how we manage water is fast becoming an urgent political issue. While businesses and nongovernmental organiza- tions do what they can, water has potent social, cultural, and religious dimensions; it can never be viewed only as a pure economic good. An unfettered reliance on markets will not deliver the social, economic, and environmental outcomes needed. Good regulation in water is indispensable.
In today’s world system, wide collaboration, although difficult, is the only effective way to address a widespread crisis. It also offers us an opportunity: led by government, a multistakeholder effort to improve the management of our future water needs stands out as an urgent, practical, and resolvable issue that, in times of economic austerity, can bring state institutions, business, and civil society together to address commonly felt challenges.
