Water is a scarce resource in Pakistan and was declared a water stress country in 2005. Over 90 % of our water is used in agriculture and 50% of it is wasted due to old irrigation practices. Remaining 10% is used by civic and industrial purposes. It is one of the major challenges we are facing. The amount of fresh water is decreasing and the polluted water is increasing. This makes the water not suitable for human or animal consumption. This challenge is compounded when we throw chemical waste into our creeks, rivers and seas which possess a threat to marine life as well. Pakistan as a country is facing many water issues like Water availability, Water quality Unsustainable use of water, water pollution and improper water allocations.
The scarcity of water also causes conflict between people over its possession which adversely impact the economy of Pakistan. Clearly, Water issues can be resolved by individual initiatives to collective actions and especially conserving water at every level. For example, we should not let water to waste by leaving the taps or pipes on. Only flush toilets when necessary and place buckets under the shower for any extra water. There should be strict law enforcement on water efficiency and environment-friendly practices in the manufacturing process to avoid any chemical waste polluting our rivers. Bringing efficiency in the agriculture sector is most important by adopting efficient practices like drip irrigation methods rather flood irrigation to save water where it is most needed. We also need large water reservoirs like Dams to save water when it is overflowing.
Saving our water, we can do this by learning how important water is and how to be sustainable.
MUHAMMAD RAFAY WAQAR,
Lahore, October 14.