Every drop counts: Water seen as prerequisite to economic growth

Speakers at a conference say water conservation is a collective responsibility

LAHORE:

Water is not only essential for human life but also for economic growth and development, said panellists on Friday at a discussion, titled Water for Livelihoods.

The discussion was part of a five-day workshop on water resources and management at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), arranged in collaboration with Nestlé Pakistan and WWF-Pakistan.

The panel consisted of Forman Christian College University’s (FCCU) Prof Kausar Abdullah Malik, economist Pervaiz Amir, International Water Management Institute (IWMI) researcher Muhammad Aslam and WWF Water Stewardship Project senior manager Ali Hasnain Sayed.

Sayed said that Pakistan should lead from the front for water management as the country had one of the largest canal systems in the world and was blessed with powerful water systems like the River Indus. To achieve this, he said, academia should play its role and work on social, economic and environmental aspects of water management.

Amir said that Pakistan had been a predominantly rural country but people were now moving into the cities and away from agriculture. He said that unfortunately policies were made on the basis of political and economic gains and not according to social, environmental and economic needs of the people. He said that distribution of wealth in a country like Pakistan depended on water. He said areas with better water availability were economically more stable. He said water conservation was not the responsibility of only the government. Society as a whole needed to work in this regard, he said.

Amir said Pakistan could face disastrous consequences of climate change. He said that turning cities into large concrete structures, too, could prove disastrous.

Aslam said actionable research could help the government save water for the future generations.

He said that due to lack of facilities in other parts of the Punjab, people were moving to Lahore. He said, “The government needs to shift its focus from projects such as Metro train and set right priorities.”

Abubakar Muhammad from the LUMS highlighted the role of water and its impact on the country. He said the development of smart water infrastructures would lead to an efficient water resource management. He also talked about inequality in terms of free-flowing water availability.

Nestlé country business manager Khurram Zia said, “Water is a fast depleting resource shared among us as individuals, farmers, the industry, the environment and communities.”

“Nestlé is committed to being a water steward and that means ensuring our operations – from agriculture value chain to industrial processes – are efficient and that we collaborate on initiatives that encourage preservation of water resources in the long term.”

WWF-Pakistan director general Hammad Naqi highlighted the importance of water for Pakistan. “Our consumption patterns have become highly unsustainable as we are not just depleting the groundwater supply but also contaminating the rivers leading to a polluted aquifer. The WWF supports programmes and partnerships which aim to address this massive challenge,” he said.

Nestlé Pakistan’s Sheikhupura factory manager Abrar Ahmad signed a commitment document pledging the responsible use of water resources both at the Nestlé Factory, as well as in its catchment area.

Theme for this year’s UN-World Water Day is Better Water, Better Jobs.

The two-hour discussion among academia, private practitioners, non-profit and government sectors highlighted how each sector could contribute to securing livelihoods associated with the water industry. The discussion centered around four topics – Rural Development, Urban Development, Business and Economy and Policy and Governance – and their impact on water availability, politics, management and governance.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2016.