Humans have coexisted with rivers for centuries; living on embankments and benefitting from their ebbs and flows to earn their living. Urbanization has created a wedge between the two. Integrated Watershed Management is all about learning to live with the rivers again. Relevant literature suggests that globally, nations are returning to integrated management of natural resources to avoid wastage. There is a need to adapt to sustainable growing practices in Pakistan, that optimize the management and use of land, and water resources, their interactions and related externalities.
The Integrated Watershed Management Approach (IWMA) suggests the integration of technologies within the natural boundaries of a drainage area for the optimum development of land, water, and plant resources to meet the basic needs of people and animals sustainably. This approach aims to improve the standard of living by increasing earning capacity by offering all facilities required for optimum production. The integrated watershed management plans for various communities shall identify and embed the environmental and socio-economic aspects peculiar to that area and align the existing regulatory framework accordingly. A collaborative and participatory approach that includes all relevant partners namely government, local community, NGOs, and other institutions is the way going forward. Besides afforestation plans, installing a national multi-hazard early warning system, improving and expanding water storage capacity, maintenance of existing flood protection infrastructure and an integrated flood management plan should form part of an integrated watershed management strategy.
To begin with, all communities prone to flash floods need to be mapped and documented by the provincial governments with a focus to identify local issues and challenges. The plans should be developed to address those issues and implemented locally. Monitoring and review mechanisms should also involve local communities. Such data sets will help develop policies specific to flash flood risk management. Owing to its very sudden nature and localized incidence/occurrence, there is a need to empower local communities to assume a central role in flash flood management including preparedness, adaptation, mitigation etc. while making use of indigenous knowledge and practices.
Pakistan needs to preserve the integrity of the Indus River Basin through water resource governance.
On the governmental level, it should improve the institutional setup for flash flood risk management ensuring it deals with it as separate from other types of floods but under an integrated disaster management approach. An effective early warning system is needed involving upstream and downstream communities in flash flood-prone areas, to save lives, livestock and shelters etc.
On the environmental level, Pakistan needs to adapt its water and land-use practices to tackle the water shortages in the region and can learn from the OECD experience of an integrated approach for managing water resources across the full river basin through a comprehensive regulatory framework for management and enforcement of water laws, policies and institutions. Pakistan needs to preserve the integrity of the Indus River Basin (IRB) through water resource governance, management and use, strengthening and aligning structures, institutions and water laws, and empowering upstream and downstream communities.
An action plan for rehabilitation of the lost forest cover should be introduced, that incentivizes and promotes community-based forest restoration, including linear plantations on farms and agriculture fields, water channels and rural roadsides with the aim to increase forest coverage from current 4.8% to 10% in the next five years. On the Socioeconomic sphere, there is again a need for “learning to live with the rivers”, making way for them through identifying and defining backwaters and floodways and adapting land-use practices in these areas to clear and reconfigure natural drainage paths and water channels to allow flood waters to recede.
The initiatives like Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Project (TBTTP), Clean Green Pakistan & Ecosystem Restoration provide nature-based solutions. Given the limited fiscal space, the country faces a huge financial challenge in dealing with environmental issues. The development of a robust national framework to meet challenges related to the glacial melting and flash floods is a need of an hour and it should have four pillars. These are a) benefitting from the traditional wisdom and practices of the communities and an integrative approach with utilization of scientific knowledge, advancements and modern technology; b) identifying practices, and socio-economic factors, ensuring inclusivity, gender sensitivity and focus on the most vulnerable segments; c) developing a comprehensive mitigation strategy, with clear cut and defined role of the primary agency; d) carving out space for channelling of climate finance would require recalibration in the approach for accessing international resources. Going beyond the national ambit, other bilateral and multi-laterals options have also been discussed ahead.
Transboundary Glacial Platform: The HKH (Hindu-Kush Himalaya) region is a geographical entity. The receding of the Third Pole, glacial melting, and disappearances of small glaciers, GLOFs, flash floods and the nature of the challenges to communities are similar for the regional countries. The cryosphere, western disturbances and the impact of monsoons are also common. At the moment, the creation of a Trans-boundary Glacial Platform seems a premature stride. India and Pakistan have been spending huge resources for decades on keeping their armed forces in Siachen glaciers and other high mountainous regions. The rise of the extreme right wing in India has aggravated the existing tensions between India and Pakistan. The experience of the SAARC also indicates that progress could not be made on vital developmental and environmental issues. However, the regular exchanges and meetings of the Indus Water Commissions to deal with the Indus Water Treaty-related issues provide hope for a regional dialogue on climate change and environmental issues.
(To be Continued).
The writer works at a public policy think tank and can be reached at saudzafar5@gmail.com.