Scholars and academicians at a recent national conference debated in Karachi the growing water problem from many dimensions but concluded that the core issue in the water crisis was that of raparian rights.

Whether it is for drinking purpose or for irrigation, they asserted that it is a primary responsibility of the government and relevant institutions to ensure water to those who have a rightful claim on it.

The water scarcity, as perceived by different segments of society, has become a sensitive national issue, drawing varying reactions from different quarters ranging from Sindhi nationalists and various shades of politicians to technicians and scholars. Water crisis has wide-ranging implications.

Speaking at the two-day conference Dr Jawed R. Leghari, vice-president, SZABIST said water management was a technical issue;it was a social and an economic issue. And water was an emotional issue linked to the survival and well-being of Pakistan.

Jointly with NGOs, the research wing of the SZABIST has organised within a span of 18 months, a national conference on water issue for the fourth time on December 29-30. The organisers reckon water as one of the most critical issues facing the country.

The government has set up a parliamentary committee under the chairmanship of Senator Nisar A. Memon to recommend new water reservoirs. Its report will be finalised by June 30, 2004.

Participants at the conferences disagreed with the official approach. To restore the confidence of the lower riparian,the conference resolved that it was necessary to streamline the functioning of the of existing reservoirs/link canals before launching any new reservoir project.

A participant pointed out that water can be saved by reducing the system losses in the irrigation system, which, he said, accounts for 65 per cent of the water available at the canal heads.

The conference was also informed that the present reservoirs particularly Mangla Dam is being filled in April- May when there is severe shortage of water in lower riparian areas. The demand for inter-provincial distribution of water through 1991 Award was reiterated. The 1994 formula was rejected.

Many participants saw unfair distribution of water pushing the country and the world towards water war. In Pakistan, provinces are at logger heads over unfair distribution of water even within the provinces, there are issues in Canal Command Area between those drawing water at the head and the tail- enders.

Press reports indicate that in the next twenty years, water would become a major issue amongst nations, India and Pakistan included. Worried over these developments, SZABIST Centre for Information and Research, ActionAid Pakistan and Fisherfork Forum jointly organized last month the national conference on "water management and conservation: issues and options".

The gravity of the water problem was also highlighted in a joint presentation made by Khalid Hussain of Development Vision, Multan, and Prof. Nauman of Piler. They observed: " We have water crises, crisis in irrigation and crisis in demand and supply, we have crisis in agreement. Both riparian actors agreed to act to the IRSA arrangement but both did not agree to the implementation of the act.... Decision -makings are arbitrary. We know the crisis in governance that faces us."

The issue of governance was also particularly focused at length in the deliberations of the conference. Many speakers lamented the fact that peoples' representatives were ignored in decision-making on the water management and development projects. They referred to the resolutions of three provincial assemblies opposing the Kalabagh dam.

The process of decision-making was criticised by Khadim Husain , programme manager, ActionAid Pakistan. He criticised IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank which, he said, prepare all development projects, offer technical assistance and the documents go for signature to the bureaucrats.If an official raises objection, he is transferred. The purpose of IFIs is to impose loans on us.

Of the sanctioned amount, he added, 40 per cent goes to the consultants. When a project is reviewed, a lot of flaws appear. Disadvantages outweigh benefits as can be assessed from the environmental, social and economic impact of projects. A few stakeholders benefit but a large number of the poor always suffer.

In an 11-point resolution, the conference noted with concern that foreign aid does not come without strings and the" beneficiaries" are actually sufferers as the aid money does not reach them. On the contrary, they are made to pay huge taxes for repayment of loan without realizing the proportionate benefits.Foreign aid should be accepted after its prose and cons are fully examined specially its implications for the affected population.

It was important to study the present condition of the irrigation system, both physical and hydrological, before embarking on a massive programme encompassed in Vision 2025. In his presentation Khadim Husain said "water is a right" and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right to access to water but not right to water. This access means that people themselves have to struggle for water.

ActionAid believes in "right- based approach" that means there are some rights for the people. You have to start from these rights when you start making development projects and formulate national policies. In countries like Pakistan, few segments of society benefit from the so-called development projects. The rest become victims.

So, launching of new projects should be seen in the context of the rights.The 400 kilometre long kutchi canal which starts at Taunsa to reach Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali's ancestral village has damaged countless villages and lands. Such projects should not destroy other sources of livelihood.

With water availability reduced under the present scenario and spelt out by the delegates, the conference was of the view that construction of any mega dam on the Indus River would not only be waste of national resources but also would prove detrimental for the livelihood and ecological conditions in the lower reaches of the Indus. The adverse factors should be considered before designing of a mega-project, the delegates unanimously agreed. The speakers at the conference included A.N.G. Abbasi, Dchairman of the technical committee appointed by the President.