Water Scarcity in Pakistan: A Growing Crisis

Water is the cornerstone of human survival, economic stability, and agricultural productivity. In Pakistan, where agriculture contributes nearly 23% to GDP and employs over a third of the workforce, water scarcity is an urgent and growing concern. The country faces a precarious balance between rising demand and declining availability, exacerbated by rapid population growth, urbanization, and industrial expansion. Climate change compounds the problem, altering rainfall patterns, accelerating glacial melt in the northern mountains, and intensifying the frequency of floods and droughts. These shifts threaten crop yields, livestock productivity, and ultimately food security.

Agriculture accounts for approximately 90% of Pakistan’s water consumption, yet inefficient irrigation practices, outdated canal systems, and high rates of water loss through seepage and evaporation undermine effective utilization. Over-extraction from rivers and groundwater further depletes reserves, creating long-term sustainability risks. Compounding these technical challenges are socio-economic and policy factors, including fragmented water governance, limited investment in infrastructure, and inequitable distribution among provinces and smallholder farmers.

Addressing Pakistan’s water crisis requires integrated and multi-level solutions. Modernizing irrigation through precision techniques such as drip and sprinkler systems can dramatically reduce wastage. Strengthening water governance, including equitable allocation policies and participatory management frameworks, is essential to balance agricultural, industrial, and domestic needs. Investments in water storage infrastructure, rainwater harvesting, and groundwater recharge can buffer against seasonal variability. Additionally, promoting crop diversification towards less water-intensive varieties and integrating climate-resilient agricultural practices can enhance efficiency.

Ultimately, sustainable water management in Pakistan is inseparable from national food security, economic resilience, and social stability. By combining technological innovation, policy reform, and stakeholder engagement, the country can safeguard its freshwater resources, ensuring that agriculture continues to support livelihoods and development in an increasingly water-constrained future.

Irrigation and Water Management

Agriculture forms the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, contributing 22.9% to GDP and employing 37.4% of the workforce (Pakistan Economic Survey, 2023-24). Its productivity hinges on irrigation, with over 90% of agricultural output and 80% of export earnings dependent on the Indus River Basin’s extensive canal network (World Bank, 2022). Despite hosting the world’s largest contiguous irrigation system, Pakistan has shifted from water abundance to scarcity. Per capita water availability has declined from over 5,000 cubic meters in 1951 to less than 900 cubic meters today, well below the global scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic meters (PCRWR, 2023). This decline reflects increasing population pressure, rising industrial demand, climate variability, and inefficiencies in water management.

The Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS) spans 1.12 million square kilometers and forms the hydrological backbone of the country. Under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with India, Pakistan controls the western rivers, Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, while the eastern rivers flow to India. The system comprises three major dams, Tarbela, Mangla, and Chashma, with a combined live storage capacity of only 14.3 Million Acre Feet (MAF), far below the annual river flow of approximately 145 MAF (IRSA, 2023). Additionally, 19 barrages, 12 link canals, over 58 main canals, and 100,000 watercourses distribute water across 18 million hectares. Aging infrastructure and transmission losses exceeding 40% due to seepage and evaporation dramatically reduce the water that reaches farms (Qureshi, 2020).

To compensate for inconsistent canal supplies, farmers increasingly rely on groundwater. Pakistan ranks as the fourth-largest global user of groundwater, with over 1.2 million tube wells extracting water at unsustainable rates (Qureshi & Ashraf, 2019). Water tables in Punjab and Sindh are declining by 0.5 to 1.0 meters annually (PCRWR, 2023). Moreover, in more than half of the Indus Basin, groundwater is brackish or saline, threatening soil fertility and long-term agricultural viability.

These challenges underscore the urgent need for integrated water management strategies. Modernizing canal infrastructure, promoting efficient irrigation technologies such as drip and sprinkler systems, regulating groundwater extraction, and implementing watershed management can help sustain agricultural productivity. Without immediate reforms, Pakistan’s agriculture and by extension its economy and food security faces increasing vulnerability to water scarcity, climatic shocks, and environmental degradation.

Challenges and Pathways in Pakistan’s Water Resource Allocation

Water allocation and management in Pakistan face a complex web of interrelated challenges, threatening both agricultural productivity and national food security. Climate change stands as a foremost driver of uncertainty. Pakistan ranks among the top ten countries most vulnerable to climate-related hazards. Altered monsoon patterns, coupled with accelerated melting of Himalayan glaciers that supply up to 80% of the Indus River’s flow, have amplified variability in water availability, creating alternating extremes of floods and droughts (IUCN, 2022).

Agriculture, consuming 93% of national water resources, suffers from extremely inefficient use. Flood irrigation dominates 90% of farms, resulting in substantial wastage. Consequently, Pakistan’s water productivity, crop yield per unit of water, is among the lowest globally (World Bank, 2022). Compounding these technical inefficiencies are institutional and governance issues. Inter-provincial disputes over water allocations are recurrent, with provinces contesting allocations during critical periods, accusing one another of theft or mismanagement. Despite the National Water Policy (2018), weak implementation, nominal pricing, and limited institutional capacity hamper effective water management. Coordination between federal and provincial agencies remains fragmented, leaving systemic gaps in policy enforcement.

Addressing these challenges requires a multi-pronged approach. Modernizing irrigation infrastructure is vital; lining canals and promoting High-Efficiency Irrigation Systems (HEIS) such as drip and sprinkler irrigation can save 30–50% of water compared to flood irrigation (PM’s National Agriculture Emergency Program, 2023). Expanding storage capacity through projects like the Diamer-Bhasha Dam can help manage floodwaters, mitigate droughts, and stabilize supply. Groundwater regulation, including licensing and promoting solar-powered, water-efficient extraction technologies, is essential to prevent over-abstraction.

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) offers a framework for sustainable allocation, using tools such as Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) to simulate distribution scenarios under varying climate and usage conditions. Governance reforms are equally critical. Strengthening IRSA’s technical capacity and authority, revising water pricing to incentivize conservation while safeguarding smallholders, and empowering Water User Associations (WUAs) to manage local resources can create a more equitable, efficient, and resilient system.

Conclusion

Water scarcity in Pakistan has emerged as a defining challenge for the country’s agriculture, economy, and food security. Despite the historical abundance of the Indus River Basin, per capita water availability has fallen below the global scarcity threshold, driven by population growth, industrial expansion, and climate variability. Agriculture, consuming over 90% of national water resources, faces acute inefficiencies due to outdated irrigation methods, aging canal infrastructure, and excessive reliance on groundwater. The resulting over-extraction has caused declining water tables, soil salinity, and long-term threats to productivity, particularly in Punjab and Sindh.

Addressing these pressures requires integrated and multi-level interventions. Modernizing irrigation infrastructure, including the widespread adoption of high-efficiency systems such as drip and sprinkler irrigation, can substantially reduce water wastage. Expanding storage through large dams, coupled with watershed management and rainwater harvesting, would buffer against seasonal variability. Effective groundwater regulation, including licensing, monitoring, and promotion of solar-powered efficient pumping systems, is essential to prevent over-abstraction.

Equally important are governance reforms. Strengthening the technical capacity and authority of IRSA, implementing data-driven allocation models, revising water pricing to incentivize conservation, and empowering Water User Associations to manage local resources can foster equitable and sustainable water distribution.

Ultimately, water security in Pakistan is inseparable from national food security and economic resilience. By combining technological innovation, infrastructural investment, and institutional reform, Pakistan can safeguard its freshwater resources, enhance agricultural productivity, and ensure that its agrarian economy continues to support livelihoods and development in the face of mounting environmental and socio-economic pressures.

References: Government of Pakistan; IRSA; PCRWR; Qureshi; Qureshi & Ashraf; World Bank; IUCN

Please note that the views expressed in this article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of any organization.

The writer is affiliated with the Institute of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

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