LAHORE: Punjab is experiencing unpredictable rainfall patterns, leading to increased reliance on groundwater resources causing their depletion, warns Dr Mohsin Hafeez, director of Water, Food and Ecosystems at International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Speaking at a workshop organised to mark the World Environment Day under the UK Aid-funded Water Resource Accountability in Pakistan (WRAP) Programme on Monday, Mr Hafeez said a comprehensive strategy was needed to check the increasing pressure on subsoil water to save it for the future generations.

Quoting a baseline survey, he said 61pc farmers were willing to change their current farming practices, which included flood irrigation, and needed guidance and support from the government to adopt a resilient farming approach. He said through climate-smart interventions, the IWMI Pakistan aimed at guiding the farmers, industrialists, urban water users and other stakeholders on sustainable water use so that water scarcity could be addressed.

Dr Muhammad Javed from the irrigation department said the Punjab Water Act 2019 had been introduced to regulate groundwater abstraction, regulation of disposal of wastewater and provision of sub-sectoral allocation of water. A licensing regime had been established through which any entity wanting to abstract water needed to get a license, he added.

Malik Muhammad Akram, the director general of the On-Farm Water Management, claimed that due to strategic interventions by his wing, at least six million acre feet of water per annum was being saved in Punjab.

He said the province was facing a deficit of 12MAF as against its requirement of 65MAF for 43 million acre cropped area, the net availability of water was 53MAF.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2023