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Call to discover cheap methods of water storage in arid areas

ISLAMABAD: A three-day regional workshop on arid zone hydrology began here on Thursday calling upon hydrologists to undertake constant research to discover cheap methods of water storage in arid zone for economic development of the country.

The three-day workshop has been organised by Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) in collaboration with Unesco.

The purpose of this workshop is to share ideas, knowledge and experiences and discuss important problems and alternative measures for sustainable use of land and water resources in the arid regions of the country.

Javaid Masud, Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology, PCRWR Chairman Dr Tariq ur Rehman and the Secretary General Pakistan National Commission for Unesco Mirza Musheer, spoke on the occasion.

In his inaugural speech, Javaid Masud called for constant research in order to discover cheap methods of water storage, reducing evaporation, distilling seawater, artificially recharging natural ground water reservoirs and eradication of salt in irrigation supplies from underground sources for the economic development of Pakistan.

He said water scarcity will be a major threat in the 21st century as according to various studies nearly one-third of the world's population Ñ about 2.7 billion people Ñ will experience severe water shortage within the next 25 years.

"Water scarcity is the single greatest threat to human health, environment and global food supply. It also threatens global peace as countries in Asia and Middle East seek to cope with shortages. Water scarcity already is a major destabilising force within countries because different sectors of economy are vying for scarce water resources", he added.

The science and technology secretary said Pakistan is mostly an arid country with very high temperatures in the central and southern parts during summer.

He said, "In Pakistan about 80 percent of the total land area of 79.61 million hectare or about 25 percent of the cultivated hectarage of 20.44 million hectare is rainfed. The bulk of these rainfed areas consist of arid and semi-arid lands".

He said that pressure brought upon to feed more people have increased the significance of food production in the arid and semi arid regions of Pakistan.

Javaid Masud said water contains all life forms and called for a holistic approach for development economies, and the protection of natural ecosystems on which the survival of humanity ultimately depends.

He thanked Unesco for its cooperation with the PCRWR for holding this important workshop. He hoped that the participants of the workshop should harvest full benefits from this workshop and the discussions should equip the scientists with better knowledge in the field of arid zone hydrology.

In his remarks, the PCRWR chairman said Pakistan's water resources are mainly derived from the Himalayan watersheds of about 400,000 sq.km with numerous glaciers feeding the Indus river system.

Dr Tariq ur Rehman said, "The water sector in Pakistan is at critical juncture, where the adverse environmental effects of waterlogging, salinity and mining of ground water are threatening the resource base of irrigated agriculture. Growth of productivity in agriculture also declining".

"This situation requires new solutions to maintain the resources base, improve agricultural productivity and sustain irrigated agriculture in the country", he added.

He said more than two-third area of Pakistan is arid but it has great potential in agriculture. He called for its exploitation for the socio-economic prosperity of the country.

He also called for making more research in water resources in the arid region for the promotion of agriculture in the country.

Mirza Musheer, in his remarks said that Unesco would extent its full cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Technology in carrying out research and training activities in sustainable water resources management in Pakistan.

He called for making special water management policies in arid zones in order to mitigate water related disasters. APP