Energy Crisis in World - Effects Causes and Solutions

OUTLINES

1. Introduction Factors Accentuating Water Crisis in Pakistan
2. Hegemonic attitude of India
3. Inter-provincial disputes over the distribution of water
4. The government's pathetic indifference towards the construction of new dams and barrages
5. The increased sedimentation of dams
6. Prevalence of outdated and water-wasting irrigation techniques among the farmers
7. The burgeoning gap between demand and supply of water
8. Large-scale pilferage of water viii. Monopolization of the water resources by the feudal lords
9. Increased evaporation of water due to global warning
10. Inter-provincial trust deficit Alarming Ramifications Unleashed by Water Crisis
11. Huge threat to national integration
12. Deterioration of relations between Pakistan and India
13. Debilitating effects on agricultural sector
14. Reduced industrial output
15. Worsening poverty
16. A setback to livestock sector
17. Decrease in volume of exports.
18. Power crisis
19. The Way Forward
20. Conclusion

Since its very inception, Pakistan has been faced with water crisis. It is one of those Dissues which have always defied their solution in one way or the other. The fact that agriculture is the backbone of the economy of Pakistan has further increased the gravity of the issue. With water being the soul of agriculture, the agriculture-based economy of the country is wholly dependent on it. So availability of water is increasingly necessary for the agriculture sector which is absorbent of not only more than 60% of the rural population of the country, but also provides raw material to the industrial sector. This is why the issue of water crisis has assumed such a great significance. On one hand, this issue has the capacity to give the deadly below to the agriculture-based economy, thus unleashing destructive waves of unemployment, poverty, starvation, droughts and unrest across the whole country; while on the other it hangs like sword of Damocles over the integrity and sovereignty of the country because this issue being the bone of contention between Pakistan and India can trigger war between the two countries. Above all, it also has potential to cause rupture in the fabric of national unity, given the fact that the issue of water distribution is one of the prime factors behind inter-provincial discord.

The issue of water crisis has not cropped up overnight. Rather, it took a considerable period to reach such a grave level. And to be sure, a host of factors are behind it. It would be quite pertinent to have a bird's eye view of the factors involved in order to understand the issue in its real form.

The most important factor which has greatly contributed to the water crisis in Pakistan is the hegemonic attitude of India. Since the very beginning, Indian government had not accepted the reality of the establishment of Pakistan. In order to give a death blow to the sovereignty of Pakistan, it conspired to destroy the agriculture-based economy of Pakistan. While pursuing its antagonistic aims, the Indian government blocked the water of the rivers flowing towards Pakistan. When it repeated this antagonistic step many times, Pakistan was forced to take this matter to the International Forum. At last, an agreement was signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, which is known as Indus Basin Treaty. Through this agreement, Pakistan was given the charge of three western rivers, i.e. Indus, Jehlum and Chenab. And India was given the charge of three eastern rivers, i.e. Ravi, Sultuj and Beas. But, this agreement proved ineffective to keep lid on the Indian hegemany. It continued to pursue its hostile plans. It constructed water barrage on Jehlum, besides the projects of construction of Baglihar dam on Chenab and Kishanganga on the river Neelam which is a tributary of Jehlum. These steps of India 65 have caused reduction in the flow of rivers allocated to Pakistan in the Indus Basin Treaty, thus contributing to water crisis in Pakistan.

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Besides Indian hegemony, interprovincial disputes are no less responsible for water crisis in the country. These disputes are too deep-rooted to be solved easily. These disputes not only show the pathetic incapability of the federal government to solve them but also exhibit the lamentable lack of the sense of sacrifice and selflessness among the provinces. The major bone of contention exists between Punjab and Sindh over the distribution of water of the river Indus. The government of Sindh fears that further construction of dams on the Indus by Punjab may result in great reduction in the amount of water of the river flowing through its province. This will lead to the emergence of droughts which may give a harsh blow to the agriculture sector in Sindh. This controversy between the two provinces has resulted in the wastage of water which drains into the sea without being utilized.

Furthermore, the attitude of the government towards the construction of dams in order to conserve the water to maximum extent is also responsible for nurturing water crisis. From the creation of the country to date, the government has constructed only two large reservoirs, i.e. Tarbela and Mangla in order to meet the large volume of its demands. There exist many suitable places over the long course of the Indus where there is a dire need of constructing new dams. But the government has never been able to win the consensus of the people of the four provinces over the construction of dams. The major reason behind its incapability is the deplorable lack of sincere efforts on its part in this direction. Obviously, such incapability and indifference on the part of successive governments have led to the drainage of a great amount of water into the Arabian Sea without being utilized. Thus, such criminal attitude on the part of the governments has also contributed to water crisis.

Aside from the government's indifference, the capacity of the existing reservoirs is also deteriorating rapidly. The main factor behind this is the silting up of dams and barrages at accelerated rate, which has led to the reduced storage capacity of reservoirs. Almost since the construction of large reservoirs, the government has not taken any steps to solve the problem of increased sedimentation of these reservoirs. Such sheer indifference on the part of the government has further worsened the water crisis in Pakistan.

In addition to it, the irrigation methods employed by Pakistani farmers are pretty antiquated. These antiquated methods result in the loss of great amount of water. The government has not made any remarkable efforts to make the farmers aware of the modern techniques being used in the developed countries. Thus, the role of the outdated techniques of irrigation in contributing to water crisis in the country cannot be denied.

Furthermore, the burgeoning gap between demand and supply of water is equally responsible for water crisis in the country. This gap has mainly resulted from the 66 mushrooming population. The growth of population at an accelerated rate has increased the demand of water manifold but unfortunately, the supply of water has not been able to keep pace with the burgeoning demand. In other words, the demand has been increasing at the geometric pace while the supply at the arithmetic pace. Thus, the unequal growth between demand and supply has caused the water crisis in the country.

Besides, the massive pilferage of water in Pakistan has also added to the water shortage in the country. This pilferage is mainly the result of the fact that there is no effective mechanism to monitor the distribution of water. Taking advantage of the almost non-existence of vigilance of the water management department, most of the farmers resort to pilferage of water in order to irrigate their lands. Such irresponsible behaviour by most of the farmers obviously adds to the water crisis.

Similarly, the monopolization by the feudal lords over the water resources in their respective areas is also one of the main factors for water scarcity. The feudal who are virtually the demigods of their areas give huge sums of bribes to the officials of the water department in order to ensure the irrigation of their hundreds of acres of land. In this way, the massive utilization of water by the feudal for the irrigation of their lands results in the reduction of amount of water in the canals. Resultantly, reduced supply of water in the canals is not sufficient to irrigate the lands of small farmers who then complain of water crisis.

In addition to man-made factors, the role of Nature in the water crisis cannot be denied. Pakistan is a tropical country where summers are extremely hot. During summer, the increased temperature results in increased evaporation of water which leads to water shortage. Besides, due to global warming, the evaporation of water has increased manifold. It even occurs during winter months. Thus, global warming is also responsible for water shortage in the country.

Now, it would be quite appropriate to take into consideration the effects of water crisis. In fact, it is the effects which make it one of the gravest issues in Pakistan.

Perhaps, one of the dire effects of this issue is that it poses a threat to the federation of Pakistan. If there made no remarkable efforts to resolve the disputes among the provinces over the distribution of water, it may give birth to the separatist tendencies among the provinces. In other words, it may trigger the feelings of alienation and marginalization among the provinces and such situation may precipitate the disintegration of Pakistani federation. If result-producing efforts are not made in this direction, this crisis can bring the disputes among the provinces to the point of no return.

Similarly, another horrible effect of this crisis may appear in the form of war between Pakistan and India. It is an obvious fact that one of the root causes of Pak-India rivalry is their disputes over the distribution of water. The water disputes are also one of the prime factors behind worsening Pak-India relations. Almost since the beginning, 67 India has shown hegemonic attitude in the matter of distribution of water. If India's aggressive attitude continues unabated, it may force Pakistan to resort to the use of force to protect its rights. And to be sure, this will trigger war between the two countries. This war will not only be detrimental to the interests of both countries but it will also unleash chaos and anarchy in the whole region.

Perhaps the most damaging effect of this crisis has appeared in the form of deterioration of agriculture sector of Pakistan. The continued paucity of water has greatly affected the output of this sector. As this sector is the backbone of national economy, the ripples of deterioration have also manifested in other sectors of economy. If the deterioration once reached the point of no return, it would automatically lead to the collapse of whole economic structure.

Furthermore, water is not only essential for agriculture but it is also necessary for industrial sector. As the industrial sector depends on agriculture for its raw material, the reduced output of agriculture sector is also affecting the industrial sector. A considerable reduction has been seen in the industrial output. If efforts were not made to check the continued reduction in industrial output, it would automatically lead to the closure of some industries. And to be sure, it would trigger the wave of unemployment across the whole country which would further accelerate the rate of poverty in the country.

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Besides, the reduced agriculture output has also affected the livestock. The sector of livestock completely depends upon agriculture for food and forage. With the deterioration of agriculture sector, the decline of livestock sector is on rise. As most of the rural population depends on the livestock for their bread and butter, the decline of the livestock sector has deprived most of the people of the basic necessities of life, aggravating poverty in the rural areas. In addition to it, the increased decline of the livestock sector has also impinged on the economy of the country because this sector contributes a considerable share to the GDP of the country.

The story of the damaging effects of water crisis does not end here. It goes far beyond. One of the horrible effects is that it is also impinging on the exports of the country. It has started to decrease the volume of the exports. As agriculture contributes almost 65% of all the exports of the country, the reduced agriculture output has also unleashed damaging effects on the exports. If continued reduction in the export level is not checked in due time, it may lead to the increase in imports, putting extra burden on the national exchequer, ultimately precipitating the fall of whole economic system.

Moreover, water crisis has also posed detrimental effects on the power sector. This is because Pakistan meets one-third of its electricity requirements through hydro-electric power stations. Proper and sustained supply of water is increasingly necessary for the proper functioning of hydro-electric power stations. But unfortunately, there has been seen a considerable reduction in the output of these stations due to continued water crisis 68 in Pakistan. If this crisis continues at the present pace, it may further exacerbate the power crisis in the country. From the horrible effects of water crisis, it transpires that it is extremely necessary to take measures on war footing in order to counter the effects of water crisis in the country.

Following measure may be highly beneficial in this regard:
First of all, the government should make highly remarkable efforts to seek the help of the International community to counter the hegemonic attitude of India. It should project the detrimental effects caused by the water crisis to the international community to make it clear on them that this issue is really serious and it needs to be resolved as soon as possible. The government should also make constant requests to the UN to introduce this matter. It should make it obvious to the UN that the problem is no more bilateral political problem between Pakistan and India. Rather it has become a genuine human problem. Thus the repeated requests by Pakistan to UN can compel it to play its expected role to solve this human problem.

Furthermore, the present political party ruling in the country should also rise above provincial prejudices and prefer the national interests to its narrow ones. It should understand the nature of the issue and make efforts to solve it accordingly. It should play an effective role to curtail the provincial disputes in order to protect the sovereignty of the country. The elimination of these disputes is really necessary to check the prevailing water crisis. And this elimination is possible only through the introduction of such policies which are beneficial for the people of all provinces.

Besides, the government should make remarkable efforts to build consensus among the provinces over the construction of dams and barrages in the country. Due to provincial disputes, the projects of many dams like Kalabagh Dam are held in abeyance. The construction of these dams is increasingly necessary not only to counter water crisis but also to counter the threat of floods in the country. The frequent floods caused by climate change are the obvious result of paucity of dams and barrages in the country. The government should learn the lesson from these catastrophic events and make efforts in the form of construction of reservoirs to counter the threat of massive floods and frequent droughts.

In addition to long-term policies like construction of dams, the government should also adopt short-term policies. The government should take steps to disseminate awareness among the farmers regarding conservation of water. It should take steps to promote modern irrigation techniques like sprinkling, dripping among the farmers. For this purpose, the government can also take the help of media not only to educate the farmers about modern techniques but also to make people living in urban areas, conscious of the worth and value of water.

Moreover, the government should mobilize its tools of monitoring in order to prevent pilferage of water. It should take steps to awaken the water department from its dormancy to check the pilferage of water in rural areas. Strict vigilance over the distribution of water can be helpful in reducing the water crisis. It should even go to the extent of establishing more departments to ensure the elimination of water pilferage. Besides, it should also take steps to eliminate the monopolization by the feudal over the water resources in their areas in order to provide relief to the local small level farmers.

Summing up the whole discussion, it can be said that water crisis in the country is of grave nature. It should be dealt with accordingly. This crisis is not the upshot of just one factor. Rather, a host of factors like hegemonic attitude of India, inter-provincial disputes over the distribution of water, government's pathetic indifference towards the construction of new dams, its reckless attitude towards the silting up of existing dams, prevalence of outdated and water-wasting techniques of irrigation among the rural masses, pilferage of water, etc. are involved behind this crisis. The crisis can be effectively resolved because the abovementioned factors are manmade rather than nature born. If the government makes remarkable efforts in this direction, it can effectively eliminate these factors. The elimination of these factors is increasingly necessary because the crisis is impinging on the economic system. If this crisis once reached the point of no return, it might precipitate the collapse of the whole economic structure.