HYDERABAD: A policy consultation on proposed Sindh Water Policy, being prepared by the provincial government, was held with media personnel at the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida) secretariat here on Thursday.

Some members of the group of experts drafting the policy spoke online at the virtual consultation session.

Speaking from the Netherlands, Dr Frank Van Steenburgen said that the group had identified six important issues in the policy draft which included water management, multidimensional management of canals and drainage system, distribution of irrigation water, drainage of water and availability of water in the tail-end areas.

He said that this document would offer guidelines for availability of water in the industrial, agriculture, urban and rural areas of the province.

He said that cropping patterns in Sindh should be analysed and agricultural practices improved. Water policy should encompass issues of all sectors relating to the commodity.

Some burning issues were also discussed by stakeholders that included management of Sindh’s water sources in the backdrop of climate change phenomenon and increased pressures.

A multi-functional integrated management of canal and drainage system, besides using wetlands as buffers; urban water and sanitation to ensure safe living and working conditions; as well as sanitation and hygiene, also came under discussion.

Sida GM (operation) Jai Ram Bhatia told the audience that his institution had started working on the water policy in 2017. Several workshops were held to discuss issues of Sindh’s hilly terrain, desert and irrigated areas, he added.

He said input of stakeholders of these areas was also obtained for preparing a working paper. Later, a drafting group and technical committee were formed by Sindh government and now work on Sindh Water Policy was continuing.

Besides Dr Frank Van Steenburgen, Dr Heman Das Lohano, Dr Bakhshal Lashari, Genevieve Hussain and Dr Filip Floch are members of drafting group.

Dr Bakhshal Lashari told the audience that the proposed policy would address all issues as far as water regulation was concerned. He said livestock and fisheries sectors were also part of agriculture.

Effluent and waste water being released into canals would also be discussed in the policy draft, he said, adding that the FAO had defined crop zones in Sindh which, along with extraction of groundwater, would also be addressed in the policy.

Dr Heman Das said the policy draft would come up with suggestions for agriculture sector on how to increase productivity. He said climate change aspect would be properly covered in it. He said it would be a comprehensive document with all short-, medium- and long-term strategies.

Sida chairman Abdul Basit Soomro said that the water policy should be climate-friendly because the phenomenon has emerged as a big threat to food security. He said climate change was threatening glaciers that were a fundamental source of surface water.

He said if glaciers kept melting at a fast pace, there would be no water in future and ultimately everyone would face food insecurity.

He said the issue of better management of water was of great importance.

He stated that 95pc of water was being used in agriculture sector out of the total available water and this needed to be utilised efficiently.

He emphasised the need for educating water users in urban and rural areas and sensitise them on how to ensure that water resources were not polluted.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2021