Raksha Kumar, Khuldun Shahid and Zeeshan Javid
This took in world less time than expected to go from climate change adaptation to solution with climate emergency. The only one way to fight experts agree that work together. This is especially true in densely populated areas like South Asia, home before one in four people in in world.
Pakistan and India are the only two nuclear powers in Hindu Kush region who fought in four wars, but in instant need of climate solutions with 2022 is a turning point for neighboring countries.
While Pakistan survived the worst flooding in it’s written down history affecting more than 33 million peopleIndia faced successive droughts and heat waves push him to the lower tier of Global Hunger Index (GHI).
“These concerns are offset by changing demographics. in India and Pakistan, growing urbanization and rising requirements on agricultural and industrial sectors, says Medha Bisht, senior assistant professor in the department of International Relations at the University of South Asia, New Delhi. “This has contributed to both countries, especially Pakistan, among the countries experiencing the most water shortages. in in world”.
Bye world leaders made pledges at the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 in Egypt, experts in two countries said there are workable solutions closer home.
Indus Waters Treaty post-2016
Before the British left the subcontinent, the large contiguous land mass that is now Pakistan and India, was served by the Indus River and its tributaries. As a result of Partition and subsequent mass migration are the largest in in world – leaders of these countries entered into an agreement under the supervision of the World Bank.
Indus Waters Treaty gives India control over water of three “eastern rivers” – Beas, Ravi and Sutlej, and Pakistan controls three “western rivers” – Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.
The agreement has survived wars, skirmishes and international conflicts between the two countries over controversial region of Kashmir, where the rivers originate from. But climate emergencies threaten to break what wars have failed to break.
AND New Delhi Parliamentary Report 2021 worries that climate change is largely ignored by the treaty that was negotiated on the basis on knowledge and “technological imperatives” available at the time of negotiations, 1950s
climate watchers in India says inefficient water use and climate emergencies have led to made in region tinder-box. The smallest spark is all there is required.
In 2016 Indian Army Brigade Headquarters in city of Uri of occupied Kashmir was attacked, killing nineteen soldiers. India blamed Pakistan, but Pakistan rejected the accusation. Islamabad considers any subversion in disputed Kashmir is indigenous.
Unintended Victim of the attacks were the division of water between two countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India claimed “blood and water” cannot flow together.
Until the treaty was broken, India revived Heidel power projects on eastern rivers, which had previously been dormant. Projects such as the 800 MW Bursar hydroelectric power plant. project on marusudar river, one of tributaries of Chenab, in Kishtvar district of occupied Kashmir and Shahpur Kandy project in Gurdaspur district of Punjab has been restarted.
Azim Ali Shah, researcher from Lahore with International Water Management Institute (IWMI), said the third pole.net: “A unilateral withdrawal from the treaty will involve the World Bank in the dispute. Will also provoke further unrest among the Pakistani people and maybe lead to violence.”
Pakistan’s Indus Water Commissioner Syed Mehar Ali Shah said the country expects better information flow between two countries. For example, early warning signals on floods help a country combat such emergencies, he said.
Water intensive agriculture
When Pakistan and India Have Bilateral Disputes over water, they usually revolved around the hydro-power projects and water rationing. Concerns about water quality or efficiency use remain largely ignored. As a result, the agreement became about the quantitative distribution of water resources, and not about the qualitative and efficient use of water.
AND Collaborative study of researchers 2021 from Pakistan and India found in countries have slightly different priorities. Pakistan in priority information on floods, water quality, minimum environmental flows and exploitation of The groundwater with absence of a regulatory mechanism. Indian Priorities also included reflection on cropping patterns, changing water tables and changing riverbed and water quality.
While the Indus Waters Treaty takes a macroeconomic perspective on water management between two countries there are micro-narratives on water diplomacy.
“These are livelihood stories,” Bisht said. It’s about local communities effectively using water for their lives and livelihoods. “Now is the time capture such stories,” she said.
“One of in main challenges for water use in South Asia and especially in Pakistan and India, hygroscopic form of agriculture,” writes Omair Ahmad, Managing Editor for South Asia at the third pole.
“In both these countries most of water, about 80 percentdedicated to growing crops. More importantly, much of this water is just wasted. Both of these countries use form of rice cultivation in what kind of crop is grown in standing water and of this water just evaporates. More problematic, larger amounts of water is transported through leaky channel designs over long distances, evaporating on in the way and ending up distracting far more water than is actually needed to grow crops,” he notes.
way forward – local methods of water use
Experts say that local water management practices are used all over the world. region May help capture and save more water.
Among them is the centuries-old Rajaka. in The Hunza Valley, which is a community pipeline based network designed for highlands, which may be found in Pakistan north and northwest. In Hunza, the locals build pipes, which designed supply villages with high mountain glacier waters. Locals consider it communal technique because it unites everything community in ensuring that not only every nearby village and their households will receive share of water, but also that water losses are kept to a minimum to further ensure better supply and use.
Another centuries-old method of water management, common in Balochistan, this is Karez. Okay-like vertical shafts are interconnected by tunnels through which groundwater is brought to the surface. vertical tunneling system has long ensured that the water reaches the surface without any manual or mechanical pumps. Karez system not only significantly reduces energy consumption on transports water, but also reduces water loss via evaporation that creates technique especially useful in hot and dry climate.
Karez too like Rajaks historically required team community maintenance allows the use of water resources management as a tool of social commitment that helps resolve conflicts in unstable regions like Balochistan – something both Islamabad and New Delhi can learn from.
In the upper reaches of occupied Jammu and Kashmir, local people use method of collecting water from melting glaciers. They call this is Zing. These small human-made reservoirs that collect melt water from glaciers during the summer months. They use This in other seasons.
In 2019 government of Indian Punjab introduced a rainwater harvesting plan. 70 percent of in population depends on The groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes, so they needed to return to traditional methods ensure there was enough groundwater for fast growing population.
Observers like Bisht only say more dialogue between civil societies of two countries bring lasting positive changes. “This reason why water sharing alone cannot be the focus of relationship,” she said. “Water management should to be way forward,” she is added.
This Article Analysis: How Pakistan, India can better manage water to reduce impacts of climate disasters was first Published on World Weekly News