Forget economic woes, Pakistan's biggest problem right now is water

There’s a lot of media coverage being given to the financial challenges currently faced by Pakistan and the catastrophic floods have added to the woes as well. A recent report published by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) titled: “Water Crisis in Pakistan: Manifestation, Causes and the Way Forward,” painted a bleak picture.

It flagged worrying statistics such as Pakistan ranking 14 out of 17 “extremely high water risk” countries in the world as it wastes one-third of available water. Additionally, the report states that more than 80 percent of the country’s population faces “severe water scarcity.” Water availability in Pakistan has plummeted from 5,229 cubic metres per inhabitant in 1962 to just 1,187 in 2017.

This crisis will not only affect Pakistan’s vital agriculture sector – which contributes 23 percent of Pakistan’s GDP and employs 42 percent of its labour force – but also poses a huge threat to energy and food security. This situation is deadly serious.

There are signs that the situation is now being tackled – and not a second too early. 

In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Pakistan’s Vision 2025 aims at increasing water storage capacity, improving agricultural efficiency by 20 percent, and ensuring the availability of clean drinking water to all Pakistanis.

Experts stress that Pakistan needs a sound national water policy which delineates the framework for balanced socio-economic development, management, and conservation of the country’s water resources in an environment challenged by climate change.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) puts it this way:

“If prioritised, water can serve as the engine of economic growth and regional trade expansion. With agriculture being Pakistan’s major sector… and largest water consumer, it is estimated that even if a billion-dollar output is achieved for every million acre-feet of water utilised for agriculture, the water economy has the potential to increase total annual agricultural GDP to $200 billion from its current $50 billion.

“Similarly, the country has exploited only 6,500 megawatts of hydro energy generation capacity of the Indus River system which stands at a potential of generating 59,000 megawatts.”

OCHA states that to realise the potential of the country’s ‘water economy,’ a paradigm shift is urgently required at a national level where all stakeholders are engaged.

That’s why it’s great to see products like PakVitae which are already on the market in Pakistan and have the potential to be a game changer. PakVitae have supported NGOs working in rural areas with flood victims as well. Their patented technology converts dirty water to 99.99% clean drinkable water and is now available in easy to use filters. This could bring a massive change to the country with vast coastal areas becoming farmable and making clean water available to the most remote of regions as it's being done for flood-stricken areas right now. PakVitae (also know as EveryWater) has been giving discounted filters to NGOs working with victims in rural areas.

If Pakistan really wants to become one of the ten largest economies in the world by 2047, getting water resource management right is essential.