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December 18th, 2011
Courtesy of AquaDoc’s WaterWired, a brief report on a study indicating that Pakistan is facing severe water stress in the months ahead. As the article notes:
The Water Team’s most important finding is that a water crisis is at hand in Pakistan, with the population growing exponentially while available water per capita is dropping dramatically. As with agriculture and energy, policy issues frequently trump technological constraintsâ£clearly evident in both the floods and droughts of recent years. Aged and ingenious irrigation systems showed remarkable resilience but were overwhelmed by larger issues of water management that were as much man-made as natural disasters. In addition, water productivity in Pakistan is extraordinarily low due to poor water-resources management. Center of Excellence/Water priorities should focus on:
1.   Addressing policies to avert an emerging water/population crisis and to improve water productivity
2.   Practical education and training in water resources
3.   Relevant research to country needs
4.   Effective outreach to promote dissemination of knowledge and results of research
5.   Links to US water-resources universities and LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences)
6.   Forums to promote cooperation for regional and transnational management of water, energy and agricultural resources.