Daily Times

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pakistan organised a national consultative workshop on Water Accounting and Water Resources Assessment Standards in Islamabad to support the implementation of National Water Policy (NWP), under the UK aid-funded Water Resource Accountability in Pakistan (WRAP) Programme Component 1: Climate Resilient Solutions for Improving Water Governance (CRS-IWaG). The workshop aimed to bring together key stakeholders, including federal and provincial government officials, policymakers, water experts, and practitioners, to discuss and deliberate on the importance of Water Accounting and its implications for sustainable water management in Pakistan.

Dr Mohsin Hafeez, Country Representative – Pakistan and Regional Representative – Central Asia, IWMI, welcomed the stakeholders and informed that IWMI Pakistan has initiated Water Accounting and water resources assessment at the federal level under the WRAP Programme Component 1: CRS-IWaG. According to Dr Mohsin Hafeez, “IWMI Pakistan is developing national Water Accounting standards through consultation with all stakeholders, including the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), provincial agencies (Irrigation and On Farm Water Management), and academia. Section-22 of the NWP highlights the need for a better water information system to enable the planning and sustainable development of water resources to deal with climate shocks in the Indus Basin. IWMI Pakistan will develop Water Accounting standards and guidelines that should provide an agreed methodology for getting a comprehensive information on water availability (surface, groundwater and rainfall) and their associated usage (domestic, industrial, agriculture and environment) across the Indus Basin.” There is limited information on water availability from surface, groundwater, and rainwater sources in Pakistan. Each province has developed its own methods of monitoring and measurement of water resources but there is no consistent approach. The adoption of international standards can help develop a unified approach, which will yield accurate information regarding water availability.

Engr. Ahmad Kamal, Chairman, Federal Flood Commission, was the keynote speaker at the event. He presented an overview of challenges and opportunities in the Indus Basin with regards to water resources management. According to him, “Pakistan is the eight most vulnerable country to climate change and over the last 30 years, we have been ranked amongst the top 10 climate vulnerable countries. There is no groundwater regulatory framework, and anyone can abstract as much groundwater as they want, which is leading to fast depletion of groundwater sources across Pakistan.”

A presentation on harnessing the potential of Water Accounting for sustainable water management in Pakistan was delivered by Dr Umar Waqas Liaqat, Researcher – Irrigation, IWMI Pakistan. According to him, “The Water Accounting approach can be implemented at the national level. It offers many benefits, as it promotes Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). IWMI has developed and applied a Water Accounting framework in many transboundary river basins, including South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. This information has successfully been used by the water ministries in the respective countries to identify the water-saving potential and improve productivity of the managed water supplies for these river basins.”