KARACHI:Six districts of Sindh are under moderate drought due to global warming and retreating water resources, causing poverty and migration of affected people to Karachi, Hyderabad and other cities and towns of Sindh.
“Badin, Sajwal , Sanghar, Thatta, Umarkot and Tharparkar districts are under moderate drought. During the previous week, no rainfall has been reported in the districts of Sindh,” according to a new report issued by Pakistan Meteorological Department. “The global warming is causing drought conditions in Thatta’s hilly and beach areas, where people face water scarcity and loss of grassy lands. Due to low rains, we don’t have enough grass and trees to feed cattle,” Ali Mohammad, a resident of Thatta’s hilly areas told PPI. He said that several families had migrated to cities and towns of Sindh, including Karachi and Hyderabad due to poverty caused by the drought. “Our livelihood has declined by 50 percent in last 30 years due to implications of global warming and water scarcity,” said Yar Muhammad, a resident of Thatta’s coastal village. “The Sindh and the federal governments has failed to provide any relief to the drought-hit people of Sindh, particularly of Thatta and Tharparkar,” he added.
Global warming is a geographic problem which is affecting several areas of Sindh province. Badin, Sajwal , Sanghar, Thatta, Umarkot and Tharparkar districts are most vulnerable to the impacts of warming weather. The government is cognizant of this issue but is reluctant to take strategic adaptation measures at the policy management and operational level to minimize the global warming effects.
Further efforts to overcome the challenges of warming weather need to be made through enacting legislation, setting standards and developing and implementing policies for a secure and lively environment. The existing and proposed measures being taken by the government are not enough to address the global warming issue. A real approach and practical measures are required to tackle global warming and its implication on the people. “Solar systems should be installed in villages, towns and cities across the country to reduce impact of warming weather,” said environment expert Mohammad Ali in an interview.
He said that Pakistan’s Compliance with the International Framework for Climate Change: Pakistan submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (Pak-INDC), under Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). Under the INDC, Pakistan intends to reduce up to 20 percent of its 2030 projected GHG emissions, amounting to 1603 million ton of carbon dioxide equivalent subject to the availability of international grants to meet the total abatement cost for the indicated 20 percent reduction amounting to about US$ 40 billion at current prices.
He said: “Pakistan’s adaptation needs range between U$ 7 to U$ 14 billion/annum during this period. According to a preliminary projection, the GHG emissions levels for Pakistan are expected to increase many times in the coming decades. The sector wise detail of GHG emission is given below.”
He said due to global warming, glaciers are melting and causing sea rise in Karachi, Thatta and Badin. Low water flow to sea is causing intrusion in Thatta district besides posing such threat to Karachi in future. The 1991 water share agreement among provinces has allocated 10 MAF water downstream Kotri, but ironically no water is being released Kotri downstream, Ali added.
A field visit and observation by this reporter found that 54 dehs in Thatta district have been intruded by sea since establishment of Pakistan while a Senate Standing Committee report states that Karachi will drown by 2030; therefore, to stop sea intrusion at present and in future, IRSA needs to release at least 10 MAF water into the sea through Indus Delta. It is matter of great concern that presently, no water is being released downstream Kotri. As a result, sea is continuing to erode land in Thatta besides making seawater salty resulting in raise in death ratio of fish, prawn and other living things.
Pakistan’s water demand is expected to increase 30 percent by 2025, particularly due to rise in population to over 250 million at that time. The country has already crossed the water scarcity line way back in 2005 after having crossed the water stress line in 1990. There is need to conserve water resources by lining the canals, tributaries and water courses.
According to a National Water Policy report, the Indus aquifer, underlying the vast Indus plains, and other aquifers in valleys and in the hard rock formation are recognized as important national resources and deserve protection from pollution and unsustainable abstractions.
Monitoring efforts shall be strengthened to determine sustainable groundwater potential and prepare groundwater budgets for sub-basin and canal commands. All measures to prevent lateral/vertical movement of saline water interface shall be introduced. Provincial government shall be persuaded to enforce legislation and take regulatory measures.
Various technologies used for sustainable extraction and skimming of fresh groundwater layers overlying saline water shall be evaluated and development of improved techniques initiated. The transition of SCARP tube-wells in the public sector to the private sector shall be expedited leaving development of fresh groundwater entirely to the private sector, as a local resource.