ISLAMABAD: With the country slowly slipping down the scarcity benchmark, it will be facing a severe water crisis in coming years, which will also harm the agriculture sector, leading to production loss and food shortage.
Statistics available with the Ministry of Climate Change, the United Nations and other related government departments reveal that imprudent use of water resources has resulted in multiple challenges for Pakistan.
Water availability, which stood at 5,300 cubic metres per person per year in 1950, dropped to almost 1,000 cubic metres in 2011, touching the globally set water scarcity level.
Experts express fear that water availability will further go down in coming years due to massive wastage and growing population.
It is also predicted that average agriculture produce in the country will drop 25% by 2050 due to water shortage, resulting in increased poverty and hunger.
The experts point out that over-pumping was depleting the ground water resource while 5,000 million gallons of used and untreated waste water is discharged into rivers and lakes, polluting the source for recharging the ground water.
According to the United Nations, Pakistan is among those countries, which will face water crisis in coming years.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2012.
COMMENTS (3)
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hmm, illiterate and polluting....not a good way to go through life...
Education on conservation of water should start now!!
We need reservoirs - Dammit!