KARACHI, March 22: As elsewhere, the world water day was observed in the country on Friday.
The occasion is being used for creation of awareness regarding challenges that are being posed these days owing to water shortages.
The World Water Day has sprung out from the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
The experts in this field are of the view that in Pakistan about 40 per cent of canal water goes to waste mainly due to seepage and evaporation.
Speaking at Karachi Press Club, Simi Kamal, a member of the steering committee of Pakistan Water Partnership (PWP), an NGO consisting of members from government, NGOs, banks, private sector and individuals, said Pakistan needs to change traditional pattern in agricultural sector which consumes about 96 per cent of water to save the country from famine-like situation by the year 2025.
She informed that shortage of fresh water is a global problem and more than one billion people do not have access to clean water while twice that number lack access to sanitation.
Therefore, she added due to shortage of water many rivers including the once mighty Indus do not reach the sea, while deltas and wetlands are shrinking.
Similarly, water quality everywhere is declining especially in urban areas of developing countries.
The theme for the World Water Day 2002 is “Water For Development” focusing on the links between freshwater and human, social and economic development especially as a result of increasing demand in agriculture, industry and domestic usage.
According to Pakistan Water Vision 2025, a document prepared by the PWP, country’s water scenario for the year 2025 is bleak with a famine like situation having high level of pollution and deteriorating health standards.
Farzana Saleem of the Sindh Education Foundation informed that due to efforts of PWP case of Manchar lake has been taken by international forum and whole of South Asia has adopted Manchar lake to save it from complete destruction.
She said that suggestions have been forwarded to planning commission to release water from river Indus to the lake so as to decrease salinity and level of pollution there.—APP/PPI