IDSA Monograph Series No. 18 April 2013 WATER SECTOR in PAKISTAN POLICY, POLITICS, MANAGEMENT MEDHA BISHT WATER SECTOR IN PAKISTAN: POLICY, POLITICS, MANAGEMENT | 1 IDSA Monograph Series No. 18 April 2013 WATER SECTOR IN PAKISTAN POLICY, POLITICS, MANAGEMENT MEDHA BISHT 2 | MEDHA BISHT Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, sorted in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-copying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). ISBN: 978-93-82169-17-8 Disclaimer: The views expressed in this Monograph are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute or the Government of India. First Published: April 2013 Price: Rs. 280/- Published by: Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses No.1, Development Enclave, Rao Tula Ram Marg, Delhi Cantt., New Delhi - 110 010 Tel. (91-11) 2671-7983 Fax.(91-11) 2615 4191 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.idsa.in Layout & Cover by: Vaijayanti Patankar & Geeta Printed at: M/S A. M. Offsetters A-57, Sector-10, Noida-201 301 (U.P.) Mob: 09810888667 E-mail: [email protected] WATER SECTOR IN PAKISTAN: POLICY, POLITICS, MANAGEMENT | 3 CONTENTS Acknowledgements ......................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION .............................................................. 6 PART I Chapter One .................................................................. 11 BACK TO HISTORY Chapter Two .................................................................. 20 WATER RESOURCES IN PAKISTAN: AN OVERVIEW PART II Chapter Three ................................................................ 49 PAKISTAN’S WATER POLICY: THE VISION AND AMBITION Chapter Four ................................................................. 64 THE POLITICS OF WATER RESOURCES Chapter Five .................................................................. 84 WATER MANAGEMENT IN PAKISTAN: IN-BETWEEN DISTRIBUTION AND ALLOCATION CHALLENGES Chapter Six .................................................................... 103 THE EXTERNAL FACTOR: CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN PAKISTAN— ASSESSING ‘SECURITY’ CHALLENGES PART III Chapter Seven ................................................................ 117 CONCLUSION: A FUTURISTIC ASSESSMENT Annexures Annexure One ............................................................... 122 CANALS IN PUNJAB Annexure Two ............................................................... 123 CANAL COMMANDS IN SINDH Annexure Three ............................................................. 124 CANAL COLONIES IN PUNJAB 4 | MEDHA BISHT WATER SECTOR IN PAKISTAN: POLICY, POLITICS, MANAGEMENT | 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, for providing me the opportunity to undertake this study. The idea for this monograph, germinated at the Pakistan Project meeting, coordinated by Dr. Arvind Gupta. I thank Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director General who encouraged me to write this monograph. I am also grateful to the two anonymous referees for their comments and useful insights. Their inputs have indeed enriched the study. Medha Bisht 6 | MEDHA BISHT INTRODUCTION This monograph explores and assesses the status of the water sector/ resources in Pakistan. The purpose is to understand and delineate Pakistan’s water policies, politics, and management practices. An attempt is also made to gauge the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on Pakistan's water sector. I have taken a four-pronged approach within this broad framework: First, an assesment of the existing water management policies in Pakistan is undertaken; second, the broad contours that shape the politics of water in Pakistan are explored; the third, identifies the specific issues related to water management and distribution, lastly, an analyses on the impact of climate change on Indus- Pakistan is undertaken. The monograph also attempts to trace the continuity between the past, present and future in Pakistan’s water sector. While, at the outset, linkages are established between the colonial legacy - the creation of canal colonies in west Punjab and the impact of partition and the Indus Water Treaty on Pakistan’s water practices; the conclusion makes a futuristic assessment, regarding the path that the water sector can instigate Pakistan to follow. Significantly, therefore, the background analysis, which constitutes the first part of this monograph, is informed by a historical overview of the colonial legacy of the British who created ‘canal colonies’ in West Pakistan in the 19th century. An attempt is made to examine the relevance of water issues while partition lines were being drawn by Cyril Radcliffe, along with the importance of the irrigation system of undivided India for both countries. Such an analysis is useful for understanding the rationale behind the practices adopted for designing the existing water infrastructure in Pakistan, which is examined in the second chapter. The second part of this monograph, focuses on the impact of internal (policy, politics, management) and external (climate change) dynamics on the water sector. Based on these analyses, the third part studies the WATER SECTOR IN PAKISTAN: POLICY, POLITICS, MANAGEMENT | 7 future trends and patterns, that could be discerned in Pakistan over the next 20-30 years. The specific research questions are: 1. What is the status of fresh surface water and ground water resources in Pakistan? 2. What is the infrastructure (dams, barrages, link canals, tubewells etc.) in place to utilise these resources? 3. What are the existing policies for water distribution and management in Pakistan? And what is the relationship between policy and the politics of water. 4. What is the nature and scope of the water management approaches adopted in Pakistan? 5. How is climate change and environmental degradation impacting the Indus river in Pakistan? Chapters The first chapter assesses the historical importance of water resources for India and Pakistan. The chapter highlights factors which made an arid region highly dependent on water resources. Since the history of hydrological exploration can be traced to British India, the canal colonies established by the British are the focal point for this chapter. The second chapter provides a contemporary overview of water resources in Pakistan. Along with a general survey of the existing resources, the water potential of the four provinces of Pakistan is profiled. The chapter also outlines the status of water use and availability in Pakistan and studies the impact of climate change on the Indus—nationally and across provinces. The third chapter focuses on the existing policies for water distribution amongst and between provinces. Pakistan’s water vision, policies, strategic vision, and the existing institutional structures are also discussed. The fourth chapter analyses the politics of water issues. The chapter focuses on the issues and actors that politicise the water discourse. 8 | MEDHA BISHT Inter and intra provincial claims are examined in order to assess the politics of water rights. The fifth chapter focuses on the management of water issues. While it deals with the allocation and distribution challenges of water; the coping strategies employed for the management of water resources are also highlighted. The chapter also examines the gaps and the challenges faced by Pakistan in water resource management. The sixth chapter studies the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on Pakistan’s water sector and how climate change could further affect the existing water management practices. The chapter also analyses the security challenges—both traditional and non-traditional, posed by climate change to Pakistan. The seventh chapter offers some key concluding thoughts that include: the future trajectory of the water sector in Pakistan and how issues might play out and impact national, regional and international politics. WATER SECTOR IN PAKISTAN: POLICY, POLITICS, MANAGEMENT | 9 PART I TRACING THE FOOTPRINTS OF HISTORY 10 | MEDHA BISHT WATER SECTOR IN PAKISTAN: POLICY, POLITICS, MANAGEMENT | 11 Chapter One BACK TO HISTORY This chapter discusses the historical importance of the Indus water basin in shaping the contours of the existing water discourse in Pakistan. It also attempts to flag the linkages between water resources and the territorial claims of Pakistan on the Kashmir Valley. Though much has been written about the partition of India, including its impact on the hydrology of the region, there is a lack of systematic understanding in tracing the causality of water discourse to the history of irrigation development in Pakistan. In this chapter, the water discourse in Pakistan is studied in two distinct but related phases. While the first phase revisits the developments in the undivided subcontinent in the 19th and 20th centuries; the second phase attempts to understand the water discourse through the lens of the partition. The Pre-Partition Years In an interview published in the Global Insider on June 10, 2010, John Briscoe made the following statement1: At partition in 1947, the line between India and Pakistan was drawn on religious grounds, paying no attention to hydrology. As a result, more than 85 per cent of the irrigated area of the Punjab — the breadbasket of the subcontinent — was included in Pakistan,