RAWALPINDI, March 21: Pakistan is using almost all its water resources and if something goes drastically wrong with the salt, sediment or water balance of the Indus system, there is no other river system in the region to draw on.

The Indus is the country’s only major river system. Over the years, Pakistan has harnessed the river to bring 35.7 million acres under irrigation to cultivate land in otherwise desert conditions. Currently, the country is experiencing water stress and will soon face outright water scarcity, alarms a World Bank report.

Pakistan’s economic and social well-being is built on this water system despite the scant average annual rainfall of just 240 millimetres.

Today, the country has the world’s largest irrigation system. This agriculture system accounts for one-fourth of the country’s GDP, two-third of employment and about 80 per cent of exports.

One out of five people in the world has no access to drinking water and 40 per cent of the population lack the basic water treatment facilities, according to the second edition of the UN World Water Development Report published by Unesco.

The World Water Day being observed on 22 March provides an opportunity to recall these statistics and to take action to improve them because the theme this year is “Coping with water scarcity.”

The World Bank report says large dams do not only increase the assurance of water supply but can also generate large amounts of electricity. Currently, about 30 per cent of Pakistan’s energy is generated from hydropower. Even though irrigation requirements are its priority, Tarbela’s power benefits account for 60 per cent of the overall economic benefits from the dam.

And power benefits would be an even higher proportion of total benefits from either Kalabagh or Basha.

Pakistan has used only about 10 per cent of its estimated 40,000 MW of economically viable hydropower potential, a proportion much lower than India and China (around 30 per cent) and much lower still than rich countries (around 75 per cent).