At last a water policy

Belated it may be but no less welcome for all that — the Council of Common Interests (CCI) has approved unanimously the first National Water Policy (NWP) as well as the signing of a charter that calls for a water emergency in the country. Few realise it but this is a country close to dying of thirst and any action that can be taken to mitigate the effects of chronic and accelerating water shortages can only be viewed positively. It is of note that there was unanimity among the chief ministers of all four provinces, a rarity in itself.

The agreement is both complex and wide-ranging. Development budgets for water resources are to be increased from 3.7 to 10 per cent by 2019 and to 20 per cent by 2030. There is to be a new groundwater authority in each province which is hopefully going to ensure sustainability and transparency of water-related projects along with an IT-based monitoring system at diversion points from rivers and reservoirs to collect real-time data.

This has been an agreement long in the making, postponed several times since 2005, and even now only squeaking home after some aspects of the agreement were questioned by Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa but which are now addressed. A steering committee is now proposed for oversight and monitoring and a policy implementation cell will complete the suite. The body will meet twice a year or more if deemed necessary.

There is detail aplenty and much of it is going to be a challenge to implement but this is a vital decision that is going to impact on the health and viability of Pakistan decades into the future. It is not possible to change the effects of climate change, neither possible to alter the cyclic shifts in the Indus River system, but it is possible to pull together to ameliorate some of the worst of the crisis. It is now for the provincial and federal governments into the far future to ensure that the National Water Policy is a sustainable and durable reality. The lives of millions depend upon this and it transcends petty politicking.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2018.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.