A Transformative Framework for the Water Sector

Abstract

Pakistan finds itself in a moment of reckoning, in which it must address a growing set of issues facing water and agriculture. These issues encompass the negative impact of climate change, the faltering green revolution, COVID-19, floods, droughts, and conflicts. We must learn from past mistakes and forge a new strategy to make our large water endowments more productive. This chapter summarizes the previous chapters, which have detailed the forces that shape the past, current, and future of Pakistan’s water policy, described supply and demand options, and explained how agriculture (the primary user of water) can produce more and better quality food with less water. After a detailed description of the water economy, we propose a transformative agenda for the twenty-first century. Two guiding principles need to be understood before we propose a transformative agenda. The first principle is that we build our water management strategies by learning from the past. While both the issues and solutions have been well-documented in government-approved policies and strategies, it is implementation that has been the weak link because of the lack of political will. The second principle is that most water problems and solutions are outside the domain of any individual sector (population growth, agriculture, environmental flows, etc.) to fix. An integrated approach and cooperation within and between organizations is essential.