By Amjad Jamal, Laura Keil and Victoria Blymier
One year since historic floods ravaged Pakistan, climate change enhanced natural disasters, including droughts and floods, pose ongoing risks to the country. But water insecurity is not the only risk Pakistan faces. Over 90% of Pakistan’s freshwater is used for agricultural purposes, compared to 70% globally. Agriculture makes up nearly 19% of the country’s gross domestic product and almost 40% of Pakistanis work in the industry. These numbers mean that water and food security are urgent and intertwined priorities.
While COP28 climate negotiations were underway, the third annual Pakistan Water Week convened in Islamabad to discuss these issues with the participation of diverse stakeholders from the government, private sector, scientific community, non-governmental organizations and civil society. The international conference on “Transformative Pathways for Water and Food Systems in a Climate-resilient Pakistan,” held from December 4 – 8, 2023, brought together knowledge, research and innovation expertise for collective action. President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, was a special guest.
“Pakistan, despite being responsible for less than 1% of greenhouse gas emissions, is the 8th most vulnerable country to the impacts of climate change,” said Mark Smith, Director General, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), noting that IWMI’s modelling projects predict that Pakistan’s Indus Basin will be one of only five basins (out of 30 evaluated globally) classified as facing extreme water scarcity by 2040.
As CGIAR’s Claudia Ringler pointed out in the conference’s plenary session, “Because agriculture is responsible for such a high proportion of water use [in Pakistan], water security is a food systems problem.” With a growing human population, an accelerating demand for food will lead to a higher demand for water. The agriculture and water communities face the same risks, and climate change demands the efficient use of water in agriculture.
Considering these urgent national challenges, water and food security are rising on Pakistan’s list of priorities, which prompted the international conference that coalesced around multiple sectors to generate transformative solutions for a more resilient and sustainable future.
A climate-resilient Pakistan requires water and food security for all
The conference featured over 24 sessions that covered three thematic areas led by IWMI and partners from the Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, UNICEF, GIZ and CGIAR.
Participants explored technologies that address water and food security challenges, such as artificial intelligence and data science innovations, as well as water accounting and big data for agricultural productivity. IWMI and partners evaluated the role of early warning systems in disaster risk management interventions to boost adaptation and mitigation. Discussions on financial instruments for agricultural value chains, progress of clean water and sanitation, and rural migration contributed to ambitions for sustainable development. The need for inclusive water governance was highlighted throughout sessions exploring integrated water management to approach urban water issues and the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) nexus approach in the Indus Basin.
Inclusion of women and youth was given high priority, especially considering the momentous role youth play in Pakistan’s future. “70% of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30,” the largest youth population ever recorded in Pakistan’s history, noted a representative from the Prime Minister’s Office, Ms. Tayaba Nisar Khan.
Insights, conclusions and hopes for Pakistan’s resilient and sustainable future
Conference participants offered several key insights and conclusions from each of the three thematic areas below.
- Climate Resilient Pathways: Adaptation, Mitigation and Sustainable Development for a Secure Pakistan
Water security could be improved by adopting WEFE nexus approach through implementing the Living Indus Initiative. Women and youth involvement in developing climate adaptation and mitigation plans will help achieve sustainable development goals by 2030. To overcome the complex challenges, we must adopt a whole-of-society approach.
- Inclusive Water Governance: Exploring New Pathways and Perspectives
With Pakistan’s 2018 National Water Policy and provincial water policies in place, there is a great momentum for implementation to improve water governance and water security to benefit the most vulnerable communities. Women and youth are recognized as significant agents of change; a new model of water governance for Pakistan should consider inclusive, transformative approaches. Good water governance can only be achieved by using evidence-based information from communities and leveraging private sector investments to provide localized climate resilient solutions.
- Technologies and Innovations Responding to the Challenges of Water and Food Security
Concerns about financial and government delivery capacity exist, but many creative and substantial technologies and innovations are underway. Adequate information for water resource management through big data, AI and remote sensing is becoming a reality. It must be leveraged to support real-time cohesive and inclusive decision making. Attention to local beneficiaries and participating businesses is a requirement for success. Respect for local knowledge and careful tailoring of messages is a key dimension.
IWMI to redouble its efforts in Pakistan through the Water-Resilient Food Systems Partnership
On December 10, the UAE COP28 Presidency launched a new two-year Partnership for Water-Resilient Food Systems to offer solutions focused on the interlinkages of water and food. IWMI joined the advisory committee and will support countries to strengthen how their Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans address food, land and water systems. Furthermore, IWMI and partner institutions will mobilize ‘The Water Tracker’ program to build water resilience readiness across agricultural and other sectors in national planning.
In his address at Pakistan Water Week 2023, Mark Smith stated that through the partnership, Water Tracker and many diverse initiatives, “IWMI will continue to support and strengthen Pakistan’s efforts to adapt and build resilience to water risks” by raising productivity in irrigated agriculture, strengthening water governance, delivering data and evidence to support management of the Indus River basin and contributing more to wastewater reuse, water storage and scaling of early warning systems.
President Dr. Arif Alvi made a call to action stating, “The footprint of mankind is too heavy for the resources of this world. We must come together and change our priorities from exploitation to cooperation.”
