Protection of the natural environment is very important for sustaining balance in the ecosystem for the future. Water conservation, soil quality and protection of natural habitats like forests should be high on the agendas of governments and public institutions. Conservation of the natural order is important for ensuring water availability, food security and a healthy environment.

These observations were made by ecological and economic experts at a seminar marking Pakistan Water Week 2022 organized by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in collaboration with ministries of planning and development and water resources.

Speakers at the seminar stressed the need to engage the youth of the country. They said youth can play an important role in mobilizing the local, provincial and federal governments to take action for climate sustainability. Academia, researchers, policy institutes and industry need to collaborate to find innovative and effective solutions to the deteriorating climate problem. High priority challenges include water scarcity, soil infertility and climate resilience. The country’s water-energy-food system needs to be totally overhauled to make sure that these resources are not scarce to the point of being extinguished in the future.

Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali, Chairman of the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council said that “we need to learn from countries like China and India. They have built many small dams to conserve and store water for their large populations. We need to follow their example and build small dams so that we are ready for a future where water is scarce and populations large. We also need to increase our area under cultivation to fight food insecurity and to make sure that we produce enough to feed our populations. If we produce more than we require, we will be able to export to the outside world. This will help us increase our foreign exchange reserves.”

He further said that “because of a lack of awareness and mismanagement, huge quantities of water are wasted every day. We need to work on capacity building and increasing resilience so that the water wasted in floods could be used for irrigation for many years to come.”

He told the audience that with the building of small dams, more than 8 million hectares of land can be brought under cultivation. This will produce employment, reduce poverty, fight food insecurity and usher in a period of shared prosperity.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk