HYDERABAD, June 5: Noted scholar Dr Mohammad Yar Khuhawar has said the reduced water discharge downstream Kotri has affected agricultural lands in the region.

In his presentation on “Life in River Indus from Kotri Barrage to Arabian Sea,” at a seminar on “Our duty towards environment” held here on Thursday to mark the World Environment Day, Dr Khuhawar stressed the need for assessing the water needs down the Kotri Barrage.

He said a survey conducted in July 2002 showed that fertile agriculture lands on the bank of the River Indus near the Swanda village had been rendered barren due to salinity.

The scholar said the River Indus represented one of the major water distribution systems of Southeast Asia and was the eleventh largest river in the world in terms of drainage, river discharge and sediment transport.

He said construction of channels, barrages, embankments and dams on the River Indus had reduced the discharge of water in the delta region to about one-fifth.

He said the Kotri Barrage regulated the water flow for agriculture purposes and worked as a source of drinking water for Hyderabad and Karachi. He said down the Kotri Barrage agriculture was not extensive and banana plantation in the region had economic importance.

Dr Khuhawar said a large number of people living on both sides of the River Indus not only depended on the River Indus for their livelihood but also used its water for drinking purpose.

He said the reduced water discharge had converted the river down the Kotri Barrage up to the Sujawal Bridge into pools having high salt contents.

Dr Abdul Rasheed Memon of the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology said half of the world’s wetlands had disappeared during the last century and estimates suggested that water use would increase by 50 per cent in the next 30 years. He said fresh water was becoming scarce.

He said according to a World Bank report, half of the population of the world, concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, would face severe water shortage by 2050. The report said conflicts over water might also occur in some regions.

He said two-third of fisheries were exploited beyond their sustainable limits. He feared that 50 per cent of coral reefs in the world might perish in the next 100 years. He said about 60 per cent of coral reefs and 34 per cent of fish species were at risk from human activities.

Referring to a report, Dr Memon said two billion people had no access to clean drinking water and that the use of water in the world had increased by more than 35 times over the past three centuries.

Sindh University Vice-Chancellor Mazharul Haq Siddiqui said protection of environment was a challenging task for the world, especially the third world.

He stressed the need for judicious distribution of available water and proper water management.

The seminar was jointly organized by the Area Study Centre Far East and South East Asia, University of Sindh, and the Sindh Goth Sudhar Sangat.

Prof Ali Murtaza Dharejo, Dr Hussain Bux Kolachi, Prof Qalandar Shah Lakyari, Prof Hidayat Ali Soomro, Dr Deedar Hussain Shah and others also expressed their views on the occasion.