On Tuesday, President Dr Arif Alvi, terming water scarcity a big challenge for climate-hit Pakistan, said taking urgent steps such as nature-based solutions and developing civic sense about water conservation were the needs of the hour. He regarded water-related disasters, including shortages, as the primary sign of climate emergency. According to a press release, he emphasized taking the issue as a significant preoccupation by governments, corporate organizations, and citizens.
In his video-link address to the closing session of the 6th Karachi International Water Conference, he said there was a need to bring attitudinal changes among the public by consciously educating them to use water.
The conference in Sindh’s capital, Karachi, gathered local and international environmental and food security experts, highlighting the country’s severe water-related challenges due to climate change.
President Alvi said adopting the architecture of water bodies on the lines of ancient techniques was essential to address the challenge of water scarcity.
He said using technology and managing water conservation cycles such as flood and drip irrigation could also overcome food security problems.
The President proposed the pricing of water to develop a civic sense among the citizens to ensure the conservation of the commodity. He said Islam as a religion also focused on being cautious while using natural resources such as water to avoid wastage.
Dr Alvi said a World Bank study in Pakistan showed a link between malnutrition and poor quality of water, which inhibits the absorption of healthy minerals in the body. He emphasized that the climate and water emergency had exposed the underlying dysfunctions in global, national, and local economies and showed how these systems failed to produce economic, environmental, and social justice for people.
He proposed developing platforms with the involvement of the communities to encourage them to follow preparedness and resilience initiatives on water conservation.
