1. Climate Change Impacts:

• Climate change is expected to affect water demand, groundwater withdrawals, and aquifer recharge, reducing groundwater availability in some areas. 
• Sea level rise, storms, storm surges, and changes in surface and groundwater use patterns are expected to compromise the sustainability of coastal freshwater aquifers and wetlands. 
• Increasing air and water temperatures, more intense precipitation/ runoff, and intensifying droughts can decrease river and lake water quality in many ways, including increases in sediment, nitrogen, and other pollutant loads.
• Climate change affects water demand and the ways water is used within and across regions and economic sectors.
• Changes in precipitation and runoff, combined with changes in consumption and withdrawal, have reduced surface and groundwater supplies in many areas. These trends are expected to continue, increasing the likelihood of water shortages for many uses.
• Increasing flooding risk affects human safety and health, property, infrastructure, economies, and ecology.

Climate Change is likely to disturb the river flow patterns in the future. Initial periods will be of rapid glacier melt and fewer but heavier bouts of precipitation. After this 25-30 year period, there are projections for prolonged periods of drought. Pakistan gets about 142 MAF (Million Acre Feet) of river water every year, this figure could be as low as 106 MAF.

Global warming will melt most of the Glaciers in Pakistan unless nature intervenes to reset the balance of snowfall. This escaping water resource needs to be captured and stored underground forfeiture use.

When a glacier disappears, the stream or river it feeds shuts down, and flows are restricted to rainfall inflow. However, it has been observed that this effect is taking place in the Himalayas but not in the Karakorum Range.

1.1 Major Concerns:

• Increased variability of Monsoons;
• The Projected recession of Hindu Kush Himalayan Glaciers (HKH) threatening Indus River System (IRS) Flows;
• Increased risks of Extreme Events (floods, droughts, cyclones, extreme high-low temperatures, etc.);
• Severe water and heat-stressed conditions in arid and semi-arid regions leading to reduced agricultural productivity;
• Increase in Deforestation; Loss of Biodiversity;
• Rapid melting of Glaciers;
• The increased intrusion of saline water in the Indus delta due to sea-level rise; Risk to Mangroves and breeding grounds of fish.
• Health Risks.

1.2 Climate Change or Crash?

“A big secret about how the climate behaves was buried a mile deep in the polar ice on Greenland, and scientists went there and found it. What the earth was keeping from us was this: When change comes, it can be big and fast.

Fifty years ago a small Geophysical Field Experiment led to research that engendered a new branch of science called Paleoclimatology. This field of research has uncovered the unpleasant fact that Global Climate is subject to sudden and abrupt change that is equivalent to Climate Crash. Warm/ Cold and Wet/ Dry climate alternations, previously thought to be gradual changes spread out over hundreds of years, are in fact subject to lurching change within spans of time as short as a decade. This not a theory or prediction, it is based upon hard facts that have been gleaned out of myriad different sources and disciplines. The Pentagon commissioned a Private Think Tank to carry out a study on the possible threat scenarios facing the21st Century. Their findings led to the conclusion that “Military confrontation may be triggered by a desperate need for natural resources such as energy, food, and water.” Abrupt Climate Change along with burgeoning populations can lead to a serious resource crunch.

The findings of Paleoclimatologists were based upon core samples taken from Greenland ice over a mile in thickness. This was subsequently confirmed from samples taken from Ocean Sediments that proved that Abrupt Change in Climate was Global in scope. The core samples showed a remarkably clear picture of the past in the shape of yearly deposits of snow/ sediment going back to as long as over 100,000 years. One such Ocean Sediment Site that was investigated in 1998 lay in the Northern Arabian Sea, South of Pakistan, which is a region that has an intense up-swelling of nutrients and vigorous bio-productivity during periods of strong southwest monsoon activity. The respiration of the various marine life that occupies this region results in depletion of dissolved oxygen and dark carbon-rich sediments. Conversely, during weak monsoons, the sediments were pale and carbon poor. When Greenland and North Atlantic temperatures are high, strong southwest monsoons result. When these temperatures are low there are weak monsoons. Periods of high temperature have been recorded as what has been termed as the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycle, whereas the opposite condition is termed as Heinrich events, named after the scientists who uncovered these alterations from data produced from core samples from Greenland. The matching results from Greenland Ice and Sea Sediments from a number of locations including Pakistan and Egypt have proved this to be an accurate discovery. Hartmut Schulz, the German researcher who presented these Sediment records stated in 'Nature' that these links between high-latitude and low-latitude climate events suggested “the importance of common forcing agents such as atmospheric moisture and other greenhouse gases.” The results showed that about 5,000 years ago the Old Kingdom of the Pharaohs in Egypt along the Nile, the Akkadian Empire between the Tigris and the Euphrates in Mesopotamia, and the HarrapanCivilization, that spanned an area larger than all of Europe and lay along the Indus River, were flourishing population centers. Indeed the Harrapan Civilization had invented writing and had large artisan and trader populations who occupied sprawling urban centers. Suddenly, 4,200 years ago, their cities were abandoned. Abrupt Climate change has been shown to be the cause of this disaster. Rivers and lakes dried up and large areas of desert appeared during 300 years of drought. Sediment analysis has shown that around 2,200 BC there was a sharp drop in the outflow from the Indus River, which resulted in converting the Harrapan Civilization from an urban to a rural post-urban mode.”1

1.3  Agri-Eco Zones Administration:

Presently Pakistan is administered through 5 Provinces and 1 Disputed territory. The Almighty Created the World which ultimately evolved into Agri-Ecological Zones. The Administration of any territory should be along the lines of these zones to make for complete and sustainable administration within the parameters of a single zone for ease of governance.2

Based on Eco-Agri Zones, the administration of districts within these zones should be provided for through Regional; District; Tehsil and Neighborhood Council Sustainable Development Authorities.

These should be autonomous and self-supporting in order to promote the concept of Localization for Globalization.

Existing Provinces can retain their Agri-Eco Zones within their Boundaries with necessary adjustments on Social lines. For Example, the Southern Irrigated, Sandy Desert, and Delta Agri Eco Zones can be administered under the overall umbrella of Sindh Province.

1 Climate Crash: Abrupt Climate Change and What it Means for Our Future. John D. Cox http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10750.html

2. Participatory Self-Reliance for Sustainable Development/ Poverty Eradication: An Unfinished Agenda: 1997 Sardar Taimur Hyat-Khan.

1.4 Erosion.

Our soils are deforested; marginal; sorely depleted, and subject to water and wind erosion. This is a serious problem for Forestry; Agriculture; Horticulture; Water Sheds; The Environment; Tourism and Communications. Much can be done to stabilize the slopes and ensure erosion control. This is especially needed where roads have been constructed without taking this vital factor into account. The recommended steps will improve the soil’s moisture retention capacity and greatly aid water-shed management. The main items are proper terracing, re-plantation with ground cover and trees, proper nutrition for plantation in order to ensure survival/ rapid growth using Hi-Tech Anionic, High Molecular Weight Polymers.

1.5  Taken for a Ride.

Once again the Nation has been taken for a ride and led up the Garden Path by propagating misinformation and totally non-professional, uneducated layman knee jerk reaction. But there is a method in this madness. The compiler has long since been aware that Projects are not designed in accordance with ‘Needs’ but are based on ‘Greed’ and ‘Egocentric’ Pandering to a Commission Mafia that eagerly awaits Mega Projects in order to make more and more Big Bucks and doom the unsuspecting and bewildered Nation to a never-ending Cycle of Poverty and Indebtedness!

1.6  Positive Suggestions:

This paper is not a Litany of finger-pointing nor a diatribe of self-promotion. It is perhaps a final Clarion Call to Sanity for the sake of the very survival of the Nation and the future of our children! The original Petition covered only a few points in order to make an inroad to grab the attention of those who ‘Matter’. After all, they will share the doom of the Children of the Poor just as much as the rest of us.

1.7  Threatened Glaciers:

Recent studies show that the Glaciers in the Himalayas are definitely receding, however, those in the Karakorum Range are actually increasing. This anomaly needs further study before we jump to conclusion and participate in mindless scaremongering in order to pursue ‘Vested Interest’ of ‘Particular Interest Groups’.

“The residents of Miragram village, in Pakistan’s Chitral Valley can see from their homes a receding glacier on Miragram Mountain in the distance, as well as severely diminished summer snowpack on the peaks above it.”3 Global warming will melt most of the glaciers in the Himalayan Region of Pakistan unless nature intervenes to reset the balance of snowfall. When a glacier disappears, the stream or river it feeds shuts down, and flows are restricted to rainfall inflow.

1.8 Aquifers.

Aquifer Mapping over the length and breadth of the Country. To learn about Aquifer's condition and capacity in order to plan realistically. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR), electrical conductivity, and laser sounding are some of the methods used for mapping underground aquifers, determining geological structures and material properties. GPR is sensitive to water content and provides a method for mapping groundwater surfaces including perched water tables. Detailed databases along with three-dimensional (3D) applications and visualization of aquifer properties are available through commercial software packages while hydrological computer models can be built up for study and planning.

Aquifer Improvement.

Underground Weirs to create underground Dams; ensured recharging; prevention of pollution and remediation of already polluted underground reservoirs.

1.9 Underground Storage.

Much of our irrigated soil is afflicted with secondary salinization arising from Dam Water irrigation leading to a rise of pH to even 9 (highly alkaline) where plants are unable to uptake nutrients from the soil. Most of the remaining are subject to waterlogging and Salinity. We need to create underground freshwater reservoirs. There is a need to build groundwater dams, which store water underground, rather than on the surface. Water that is stored in the soil does not evaporate like lakes; rivers; ponds and streams and does not cause secondary salinization. It is clean; healthy; free from parasites and can be stored for thousands of years. Secondly, Dam and Weir's failure will not result in a catastrophe due to escaping water as in the case of Mega Surface Dams. Natural Causes or Enemy Action will not threaten the Nation and nor will the Storage fail due to siltation. The key is to find ways to capture wet season rainfall underground.

Small Check and Delay action dams, as well as Forests and vegetation, will help infiltration of rainwater. Another method consists of the river or stream beds reinforced at suitable locations with several meters of formwork of concrete and steel, which go five to six meters underneath the bed, to the clay lens. This slows the flow of the river, giving monsoonal rains more time to seep into the aquifer. It builds up the water table towards the surface and that creates many thousands of times more water storage than existed previously and much more storage than a traditional weir. Beneath the Pingtung Plain in Taiwan, there is an underground “water corridor” known as the “Twin Peak Ditch” built during the Japanese occupation. For more than 80 years groundwater has been extracted using this underground weir” and it has continuously provided water for local irrigation. Its yearly average output of almost 30 million gallons is more than that of Tainan’s Paiho Reservoir.

Naturally occurring below-grade water is subject to recharging and flow. Some sites can be improved to retain more water rather than allowing all to flow out. Underground dams are used to trap groundwater and store all or most of it below the surface for extended use in a localized area. They can also be built to prevent saltwater from intruding into a freshwater aquifer. Underground dams are typically constructed in areas where water resources are minimal and need to be efficiently stored. They are most common in northeastern Africa and the arid areas of Brazil while also being used in the southwestern United States, Mexico, India, Germany, Italy, Greece, France, and Japan

There are two types of underground dams: a sub-surface and a sand-storage dam. A subsurface dam is built across an aquifer or drainage route from an impervious layer (such as solid bedrock) up to just below the surface. They can be constructed of a variety of materials to include bricks, stones, concrete, steel, or PVC. Once built, the water stored behind the dam raises the water table and is then extracted with wells. A sand-storage dam is a weir built in stages across a stream or wadi. It must be strong, as floods will wash over its crest. Over time, sand accumulates in layers behind the dam, which helps store water and, most importantly, prevents evaporation. The stored water can be extracted with a well, through the dam body, or by means of a drain pipe.

1.11 Agriculture Recommendations.

1. Institute Appropriate Policy reforms with a view to increased productivity through more sustainable agriculture.
2. Provide Grants for Training through Learning & Doing Centers.
3. Introduce “Conglomoculture” as Individual Intensive Horticulture Production Farm Units within Overall Framework for Inputs/ Skills/ Training/ Processing/ Marketing Support.
4. Increase productivity through Integrated Pest & Nutrition Management Systems.
5. Capitalize the Rural areas through Export Development Fund for Value Added/ Processed Goods.
6. Establish Knowledge Base; Information; Assistance and e-commerce Sites in local languages.
7. Provide Farmer Support and Capital Investment, e.g., Solar Pumps, Horticulture Machinery, and Cold Stores.
8. Provide incentives/ support to farmers adopting environment-friendly measures and provide consumer access to rural areas
9. Fertilizer subsidy on part of GOP for unstabilized Chemical Fertilizers should be discontinued unless eco-friendly measures of stabilizing and coating are not carried out. Secondly, appropriate fertilizer such as stabilized NPK MAP and MOP should be produced. Due attention should be paid to ecofriendly Secondary and Micronutrients.
10. Stricter controls over Pesticides should be instituted.
11. Institute Cross-Compliance (farmers receive support if they adopt certain resource-conserving technologies for soil/ water conservation, energy pollution, organic pest control, avoid leaching of nitrates into groundwater (should be obligatory for Nitrate Sensitive Zones that should be surveyed and established immediately).
12. Institute Appropriate Regulatory Framework for sustainable agriculture.
13. Identify and declare illegal to cultivate on steep slopes, riverbanks, forests, and Government land.
14. Restrict the use of antibiotics and growth regulators for livestock.
15. Test and report: Food Stuffs for Pesticide and Lead accumulations; Drinking water for fecal, nitrate contamination
16. Certify crop varieties before multiplication and distribution to farmers.
17. Institute Joint Forest and Grazing lands management with Local Communities.
18. Institute Water and Soil Conservation Associations, Bodies, User Groups, Districts, etc.
19. Reform Agricultural Education to include Conservation techniques through Hands-On Training.
20. Support Private Sector and NGO Research.
21. Consortia of Government, NGO, Farmers Associations, Trade Groups for joint planning and coordination for Regional Agriculture/ Resource Conservation Action Plans.

1.12 Water.

Water is the basic input for crop production in the developing world. A large amount of irrigation water is conveyed over large distances by watercourses which may be entirely unlined or partly lined. For an uninterrupted supply of water to the land, it is important that the watercourse prism should not only be hydraulically capable of conveying the designed discharge but the banks should also be strong enough to ensure adequate supply to the fields. Since the hydraulic efficiency of the watercourse, section depends largely on the efficient operation and maintenance of the watercourse; their importance cannot be ignored.

It is, therefore, essential that the watercourse should be operated and maintained properly.

Water resources managers and planners will encounter new risks, vulnerabilities, and opportunities that may not be properly managed within existing practices.

Increasing resilience and enhancing adaptive capacity provide opportunities to strengthen water resources management and plan for climate change impacts. Many institutional, scientific, economic, and political barriers present challenges to implementing adaptive strategies.

1.13 Conveyance and Canal Seepage:

Seepage is defined as the process of movement of water from the bed and sides of the canal into the soil. Seepage in irrigated agriculture has been defined as the movement of water in or out of earthen irrigation canals through pores in the bed and bank material. There are many factors that affect seepage from canals: the texture of the soil in the canal bed and banks, water temperature changes, siltation conditions, bank storage changes, soil chemicals, water velocity, microbiological activity, irrigation of adjacent fields, and water table fluctuations. Proper design and construction of conveyance systems are necessary to minimize seepage, due to the limited available water supply and ever-increasing demand for water. Seepage is not only a waste of water but also may lead to other problems such as waterlogging and salinization of agricultural land. Canal seepage varies with: the nature of the canal lining; hydraulic conductivity; the hydraulic gradient between the canal and the surrounding land; resistance layer at the canal perimeter; water depth; flow velocity; and sediment load. Excessive seepage can occur due to poor canal maintenance.

In Pakistan, seepage losses are usually high and are about 8 to 10 cusec per million square feet of the wetted area of the cross-section and amount to 35 to 40% of diversion into the canal. Studies carried out by the WAPDA indicate a total annual loss of 18.3 MAF of valuable irrigation water to the ground from unlined canals and watercourses in Pakistan through seepage alone. This huge loss of supplies if prevented can irrigate approximately an additional 3.0 million acres annually. The Indus river system is a prime source of irrigation water in Pakistan. If we reduce the losses from canals and watercourses, more area can be cultivated. It is estimated that about 25% of water (26 MAF) is lost through canals, distributaries, and minors. And about (45 MAF) water is lost from watercourses through seepage, evaporation, transpiration and overtopping, etc.

In Pakistan, including Sindh province, water management program is started from 1976–1977, which is known as “On-Farm Water Management”; the main objective of this program is to control the water losses,  which are 40–50% in watercourses, to mitigate water logging and salinity.

The annual rainfall in the Indus plain (on 21 million hectares and Peshawar Valley) is about 26 MAF, out of which only 6 MAF is used in the irrigated areas. Rainfall comes from sources namely the monsoons and the western disturbances. Average seasonal rainfall of 212 mm and 53 mm (36 MAF) in Kharif and Rabi seasons entered in the Indus plains, respectively during the year 2006-07. There is variation in the rainfall from the north and northeast to the south of Pakistan. Hussain has stated that the contribution of rainfall is 29.98 MAF out of which 17.01 MAF is lost through runoff. This data will be used for water balancing and estimation of the water gap for the year 2013.

1.14 Ground Water Availability:

Although the overall groundwater potential (non-confined and confined aquifers) in Pakistan is not exactly known, the estimated availability is approximately 55 MAF. About 40 MAF of pumped groundwater out of which 92% is used for agriculture, the remaining goes to industries (3%) and domestic & infrastructure (5%). This quantity of groundwater (50.16 MAF) is used for water budgeting Public and private tube well pumped around 50.16 MAF during the year 2011-12. This made 102.55MAF water available at the field level. Estimated groundwater loss is about 10 percent mainly due to the shorter length of channels. Therefore, about 16.13 MAF is lost in the field channels for both surface and groundwater (Table). A water supply of 90 MAF is available for irrigation. The estimated water from rainfall is 29.98 MAF with run-off losses of 17.01 MAF and the remaining 12.97 MAF rainfall water is available for irrigation. Therefore, the total surface, groundwater, and rainfall water available for consumptive uses are 87.13 MAF, which fulfills the demand for water for 16.8 mha.

The highest water losses occur in surface supplies. Water losses were of two types, conveyance losses (60.75 MAF) and loss to the sea (26.73 MAF) after accounting for seawater intrusion. The conveyance losses included canal to watercourse head (26.73 MAF), losses from watercourse head to outlet (23.49MAF), and losses from field channel (10.53 MAF). The crop consumptive use is 32.40 MAF, outflow to seawater intrusion is 9.90 MAF and the total losses were 92.37 MAF

The total water available from the surface, groundwater, and rain are 226 MAF. Total agriculture consumptive uses are 87.13 MAF and total water losses are 133.43 MAF (Table). Total consumptive uses are fulfilling the water requirement of 16.8 million hectares area in the Country. The contribution of groundwater was 50.16 MAF during 2011-12 (GoP, 2013). The water is also lost in the watercourses which are assumed to be 10 percent due to the short length of watercourses. Therefore, 11.29 MAF water is lost in the watercourses and 28.89 MAF groundwater is available for crop consumptive use. The effective rainfall in the Indus basin contributes 29.98 MAF. There is runoff rainwater which accounts for 17.01 MAF and crop consumptive use is 12.96 MAF (Table).

The demand for water in agriculture is estimated at 16.8 million ha. Crop Evapotranspiration (Et) is 625mm or 168 BM2 and irrigation efficiency is 40 percent. The net crop water requirement can be calculated as Et times Indus river basin area i.e. (0.625Mx168 BM2=105 BCM) or 85.19 MAF and divided by irrigation efficiency. The net water demand for the agriculture sector is 85.19 MAF. The gross water demand for agriculture is calculated by net demand for agriculture divided by irrigation efficiency (net crop requirement/irrigation efficiency i.e. 85.19/0.40= 212.97 MAF. The gross water demand for agriculture is 212.97 MAF for the year 2013.

Non-Agricultural Water Requirements:

Demand for the non-agriculture requirement is a very small proportion of the overall demand for water in the Country (Table). Urban and industrial water shortage is directly related to load shedding and resulting in lower water pumping.

Total Agricultural and Non-Agricultural Water Requirements:

Total demand for water included both agricultural and non-agricultural water needs where nonagricultural water needs included water requirement for domestic, industrial, and environmental protection use. The estimated demand for water 223.27 MAF during the year 2013 (Table). Danish et. al., projected that demand for water will rise to 274 MAF by 2025.

Water Demand and Supply Gap.

The current estimated demand for water is 223.27 MAF where total availability is 191 MAF and the water demand and supply gap is 32 MAF during the year 2013 (Table). Daanish et al. projected water demand to rise to 274 MAF by 2025 where total water availability by 2025 is not likely to change from the current 191 MAF The water gap is 59 percent of the entire Indus River System’s current annual average flow in Pakistan. It is evident from the data (Table) that the water gap is widening over time in Pakistan. Due to socio-economic development, the population increase will enhance the demand for water in all the sectors of the economy.

Threats to Water Availability and Quality.

Groundwater depletion, deterioration of water quality, and climate change along with environmental hazards are major threats to water availability and quality in the country. These threats are briefly described in the following sub-sections:

Groundwater Depletion:

In the 1960s, Salinity Control and Reclamation Projects (SCARP), motivated farming communities to install private tube wells for better control over and flexibility of water used for growing crops. One million private tube wells and water and sanitation authority’s (WASA) tube wells are operational to pump groundwater for agriculture and domestic use, respectively. For crops (40-50%) and industrial as well as domestic water, requirements are met mainly from groundwater in the fresh groundwater areas. The excessive use of groundwater is depleting /mining the aquifer, thereby falling water table in fresh groundwater areas in the country in general and Balochistan in particular and resultantly increased tubewell installation and operational cost due to a decline in the water table. The quality of groundwater is deteriorating due to saltwater intrusions in fresh groundwater area and rampant discharge of untreated and toxic effluents from domestic and industry near and around cities and towns. About 90 percent of untreated and highly toxic domestic and industrial water is dumped into opened drains and infiltrating into the aquifer as a result the mortality rate in Pakistan is the highest in the World of which 60 percent of deaths occur due to water borne diseases.

Challenges for Effective Water Management:

According to the UN and FAO’s definition on the basis of per capita water availability, Pakistan falls in the category of water-stressed Nations because stresses are considered high if the total renewable water resources value is above 25 percent. Water stress is increasing by 74% in Pakistan, 34% in India, and 31% in Afghanistan. Pakistan is expected to become water-scarce - less than 500 cubic meters per capita per year - by 2035. The major factors responsible for moving Pakistan from a water-stressed to a water-scarce Nation will be rapid population growth, inefficient water supply management, distributional inequalities, and effects of climate change. The average annual growth rate of population was just over 2.5 percent for the last four decades (1961 to 2011) was 2.61 percent where this growth rate was only 1.81 percent from 2001 to 2011 which suggests that the population is growing at a declining rate. It is further stated that most writings on the country’s water scarcity and water policy, in general, begin with the sobering fact that the per capita availability of water in Pakistan has decreased from 5,260 in 1951 to roughly 1,040 cubic meters in 2010 A decline of more than 400 percent

Governance Weaknesses:

Governance weaknesses include regulatory and institutional deficiencies which are briefly  described in the following sub-sections

Regulatory Deficiencies:

The Canal and Drainage Act 1873 mandates a fixed time rotational irrigational schedule (warabandi), which temporally provides the equality of equal water rights across the watercourses from start to end. Increasing water losses along the watercourse are not accounted for in and resultantly, tail-end farmers get less than their share of water and large farmers get a proportionally higher water allocation which contradicts the equity principle. According to the Act, all water resources are the property of the Government. Water rights are linked with the size of landholding ownership rather than water uses as a proxy of water use i.e. supply rather than demand-driven water allocation rights. These untitled water rights create water disputes between the Provinces as well as the farmers. Water distributional issues cause litigation due to the non-existence of fixed entitlements of water for Provinces and Farmers. The revenue from a fixed rate of water charges does not meet even the expenditure on the operation, maintenance, and management of the irrigation system in Pakistan. There is also a lack of well-established groundwater ownership and rights. Untreated and toxic effluents from domestic and industries near and around cities and towns pollute groundwater supplies.

Institutional Deficiencies:

There is poor coordination among the institutions governing water distribution at the Federal, Provincial and Local levels. Such weakness creates the problem of implementation of accountability. Water management is a Federal subject and falls under the Ministry of NFS&R. In pursuance of the 18th amendment, each Province has its own authorities for water development, water distribution, and sanitation. The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) collects data on water use in the watercourses and in the fields and circulates it after every ten days to the Provincial Irrigation Departments. Due to the misreporting of data from the gauge readers at the IBIS by IRSA’s data collection and sharing Network lack of trust and controversy is generated between the Provinces. The area development authorities or (WASA) are responsible to supply water and provide sanitation in the Provinces. Weak linkages, poor coordination, and lack of accountability of the Federal and Provincial water authorities create conflicts among these institutions. The services of WASA are poor and both undependable and lack integrity. Local governments are unable to generate sufficient funds for ensuring sustainable water supply and sanitation. The reforms of institutions would help improve governance which will generate satisfaction and obtain the confidence of the citizens.

Supply Driven Policy Approach:

Various policies and strategies have been developed to address various water challenges in the Country. The review of these policies and strategies showed that the philosophy of all these policies and strategies was biased towards engineering megaprojects and the construction of large dams rather than focusing on the management of water losses. These policies ignored the socio-economic realities in addition to minimizing the consequences of flooding, population displacement, and loss of livelihoods. Supply rather than demand-driven policies and strategies hide not only the unjust distribution of water, particularly to farmers located at the tail of watercourses.

Water Management Strategies:

The broad goal of development of the water resources sector is to uplift the agro-based economy, on the national level, by maximizing crop production, through progressively increasing surface water supplies and conserving them, using the latest technologies available and protecting land and infrastructure from water-logging, salinity, floods and soil erosion in an integrated manner. The goal also includes catering to the increasing demands for drinking water supplies and for industrial and commercial activities in a cost-effective manner. In this context, the challenge will be the formulation and effective implementation of a comprehensive set of recommendations for the development and management of water resources in Pakistan which would include, integrated use of resources, the introduction of water-efficient techniques, containment of environmental degradation, institutional strengthening and capacity building.

Recommendations:

Demand-Driven Policy Approach:

The Demand Driven Policy Approach will help equitable water distribution and efficient water use. A Public-Private Partnership is recommended to address the challenges in the water sector. In per capita terms, the declining water availability can be enhanced by focusing more on under groundwater storage using injection wells.

Strategy for Improved Service Provision and Strengthening Enforcement Mechanisms for WaterUse:

There is a need to legislate for suitable regulations which will ensure reliable and affordable water delivery services in the country. Stronger mechanisms of enforcement are needed to limit pollution, secure revenue collections, Ensure Equitable Distribution, Limit Losses, and ensure efficient and equitable use of surface and groundwater in the country. Efficient technologies are required to encourage a modular system for ensuring water supply and sanitation both in the urban and the rural areas of the Country.

Improving Communication and Data Sharing Mechanisms:

The implementation of transparency and accountability is urgently required by the Federal and Provincial Water Authorities to guarantee the trust of stakeholders and decision-makers. A joint venture between donors and civil society can play a significant role to generate accurate water data both at the Federal and Provincial levels.

Promotion of Water Conservation Techniques:

Conservation strategies could include laser land leveling, sprinkler, and drip irrigation, rainwater harvesting, and bioremediation for wastewater for water recycling.3

Managing Water Availability and Requirements in Pakistan: 

Challenges and Way Forward:

Muhammad Sharif, Abdul Jabbar, Muhammad Azam Niazi* and Ahmad Bakhsh Mahr.

Waterlogging & Salinity.

Waterlogging and salinity reduce plant growth and resultantly reduce crop production. Pakistan is mainly dependent on the agriculture sector and thus loss of agricultural production poses serious threats to the economy.3 About 75% of the total population is directly or indirectly dependent upon the agricultural sector. The agricultural sector is mainly dependent on the irrigation system of and almost 80% of agricultural production comes from the lands which are cultivated through irrigation channels and the remaining 20% are rain-dependent lands.4 Due to poor drainage facilities in the irrigation system, not only the agricultural lands have suffered but also agricultural production has suffered from the twin menace of waterlogging and salinity. Thus waterlogging and salinity act as severe constraints to agricultural production in Pakistan. It has been identified as a biotic environmental factor that has been eroding agricultural production for more than three decades and thus causing a threat to our future survival. The lands which are severely affected by waterlogging and salinity have gone out of production while a decrease has been caused to the agricultural production of lands that are slightly or moderately affected.5 It has been estimated that waterlogging and salinity affect 25% of irrigated land in Pakistan, reducing crop yields.6 Moreover, 48% of the soils in Sindh, 18% in Punjab are strongly affected by salinity and waterlogging.7 Similarly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 0.472 Mha of land is affected by salinity.8 Approximately 40,000 hectares of arable land in Pakistan is lost annually to cultivation due to salinity, and it is suggested that two tons of salt are added to each irrigated hectare per year.9 While worldwide,10 it is estimated that 10.5 Mha are affected by waterlogging and 76.6 Mha are affected by human-induced salinization, but they did not differentiate salinity in the irrigated and non-irrigated rain-fed areas.

Similarly, a survey carried out on selected Countries that represent about 70 percent of global irrigated land, estimate the total world-wide salt-affected lands in the irrigated area to be 45.4 Mha.11

The two major environmental impacts of waterlogging and salt-affected soils are the decline in crop productivity and loss of arable land.

Waterlogging (hypoxia) and salinity have a range of effects. Firstly, they rapidly decrease the initial growth of roots and shoots.12 Secondly, affect the processes associated with solute movement across membranes, such as nutrients uptake e.g. nitrogen, and increase the availability of nutrients, e.g. iron and manganese,13 the regulation of cytoplasmic pH and membrane potentials,14 and thirdly, affect the stomatal conductance i.e. it causes to decrease the stomatal conductance or leaf water potential.15

Thus all these factors contribute to the reduction of yields and loss of arable lands. The aim of this study is to identify the causes of waterlogging and salinity in the area, comparative assessment of yield production and soil, and vulnerability of different crops to waterlogging and salinity. Although, the SCARP is working effectively but still waterlogging and salinity are major problems of the area, therefore, the emphasis would be primarily on the technical aspects of reclamation. 

Fields sodden with excess, stagnant water that gradually turns saline is turning millions of acres of farmland in Pakistan barren, prompting experts to warn that the Indus basin could turn into lakes of saline water. 3 Zaman and Ahmad, 2009.

4 Chaudhry et al., 2002 and Azhar et al., 2004.

5 Federal Bureau of Statistics, 1987.

6 Chambers, 1988, and Yudelman, 1989.

7 Khan, 1991.

8 Qureshi and Lennard, 1998.

9 Stoner, 1988.

10 Oldeman et al 1991.

11 Ghassemi et al 1995.

12 Barrett-Lennard, 1986a and Drew et al., 1988.

13 Ponnamperuma 1977; Trought and Drew, 1980 and Buwalda et al., 1988.

14 Greenway and Gibbs, 2003.

15 Bradford and Hsiao, 1982; Huang et al., 1995a and Else et al., 2001.

The excessive use of water for crops, non-cemented canals, and a poor drainage system are causing waterlogging and salinity in the area.

“The entire left bank of the Indus River could turn into lakes of saline water in the next 10 to 15 years if timely action isn’t initiated to curb waterlogging and salinity,” warned Nabi Bukhsh, general secretary of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture. He added that irrigation water seeps through the ground as all canals in the area are non-cemented and this ultimately results in waterlogging. “The stagnant water gradually turns saline and destroys nearby arable lands.”

Around 43% of the area in the Indus Basin Irrigation System is classified as waterlogged with the water table at a depth of less than three meters, affecting around 7.1 million hectares of land.

A salinity survey conducted in 2001-03 by the Soil and Reclamation Directorate of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) showed that 27% of the area was salt-affected.

The issue of waterlogging is turning around 100,000 acres of land barren per annum while sea intrusion across the coastal belt of the country has been exacerbating the salinity problem each passing day.16

The twin menace of salinity and waterlogging in the IBIS (Indus Basin Irrigation System), which is the lifeline of Pakistan.

The most affected Province in the country that faces these twin issues is Sindh. About 53 percent of the total irrigated area in Sindh is suffering from the devastating effects of waterlogging and salinity which causes crop loss of 31% every year.

The total waterlogged irrigated area in the province stood at 50% while the total irrigated area affected by salinity was 56%.

The leading factors of waterlogging and salinity are:

• Obstruction in natural water flow.

• Flat land topography.

• Seepage from unlined irrigated channels.

• Questionable performance of Left Bank Outfall Drain and Right Bank Outfall Drain.

• Overdosing of irrigation.

16 https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2015/06/22/waterlogging-salinity-threaten-farmlands-along-the-indus/

The following factors also added to the cause:

• Reduced flow of freshwater which leads to increasing sea intrusion.

• High underground water extraction.

• Rapid urbanization.

• Lack of awareness among farmers.

The productivity and sustainability of the IBIS is a major challenge faced by the Country because Economic loss due to the twin menace is significant in the agricultural GDP of the Country.

Background.

The Context.

The canal commands of the IBIS are facing problems related to productivity and sustainability of irrigated agriculture:

a. Loss of cultivatable lands due to urbanization, waterlogging, and salinity;

b. Depletion of soil fertility due to higher cropping intensity and inadequate fertilization from both organic and inorganic sources;

c. Degradation of soil physical conditions due to extremely low organic matter and degraded chemical conditions; and

d. Use of poor quality groundwater.

Salinity and waterlogging are the most serious problems faced by irrigated agriculture in the IBIS. Pakistan’s agriculture sector is heavily dependent on the IBIS for its contribution to the country’s GDP. The IBIS contributes over 90% of the agricultural GDP in the country. The problem of salinity and waterlogging is an outcome of the IBIS due to the lack of an effective drainage system. Although the country has invested heavily in surface drainage it is ineffective due to lack of O&M (operation and maintenance) and lack of linkages of main drains with secondary and/or tertiary drains. In addition, the disposal of effluents to the Sea is difficult because of the distance and thus the transport of effluents is a real challenge. The shortage of canal water supplies has also forced the farmers to use groundwater of marginal to brackish quality, resulting in secondary salinization (due to soluble salts) and/or sodification (due to sodium salts).

The share of the agriculture sector to the GDP is around 21%. The major part of the IBIS was completed in 1880 by constructing barrages on the run-of-the-river system to control and divert water to the canals. The prominent features of the IBIS are its three major storage reservoirs (Tarbela and Chashma on the Indus River and Mangla on River Jhelum), an extensive network of 19 barrages, 12 inter-river link canals, 43 independent irrigation canal commands, and over 107,000 watercourses. The total length of the canals is about 61,000 km. In addition, the length of watercourses, farm channels, and field drains are over 1.6 million km (WB 1997).

Problems and Constraints of Irrigated Agriculture:

Irrigation is essential for the arid climate of Pakistan for achieving and sustaining food security. without IBIS irrigation even one-fourth of the gross value of production cannot be provided, compared to what it is contributing to irrigation. Sugarcane, rice, cotton, fruits, and vegetables cannot be grown without irrigation. However, inappropriate and inefficient irrigation has raised the water table in the IBIS. The twin menace of salinity and waterlogging is reducing the productivity of agricultural lands.

These two problems co-exist in most places; however, sometimes problems with excess water occur in the absence of salinity (Kahlown and Azam 2002). Inefficient irrigation is one of the root causes of salinity and waterlogging in the IBIS. Conveyance losses in canals and watercourses due to inefficient irrigation result in deep percolation and ultimately contribute towards salinity and waterlogging. Over-irrigation is not only a loss of water but it is an added loss of fertilizer due to leaching.

Canal irrigation without adequate drainage in the arid environments of the IBIS (flat topography, lack of natural drainage, porous soils, and arid climate with higher soil evaporation) certainly leads to rising problems of salinity and waterlogging. During the 1950s, extensive areas in the IBIS became waterlogged and soil salinity increased. Though the Government has started a series of SCARPs (Salinity Control and Reclamation Projects) in the late 50s to overcome the problem despite this effort, the problem further worsened over time (FAO 1997). Poor drainage is one of the main causes of salinity and waterlogging. Initially, the IBIS was developed without any provision of drainage because the water table during the 1880s was at 30-45 m.

With the construction of the canal irrigation system, the water conveyance losses and inefficient irrigation practices in the IBIS over a period of 100 years, based on 1980 WAPDA’s basin-wide survey, indicated that 42% area was waterlogged (WAPDA 1981). Lack of drainage can be attributed to Pakistan being a vertical country, it is difficult to dispose-off the drainage effluents to the sea. The O&M of the drainage system is not adequate until the secondary and tertiary drains are maintained with the active participation of farmers. Even the O&M of the trunk and main drains, which is the responsibility of the public-sector institutions, is inadequate and the deferred maintenance has resulted in the requirement of major rehabilitation.

It is accepted all over the world that efficient irrigation can supplement drainage by reducing the drainage surplus. But these interventions require huge capital investments to line the canals and introduction of high-efficiency irrigation systems.

The IBIS is very flat with a slope of 20 cm per km. As water moves from a higher elevation to lower elevation, therefore drainage through gravity is difficult in the flat area. Thus pumping of drainage effluents is essential to dispose of the effluents. Farmers, who are the main beneficiaries of drainage, are not interested to pump drainage water for disposal. However, some of the farmers do pump drainage water for re-use if the quality is reasonable as an input in the farming but not for drainage.

The other major constraint is the O&M of the vertical drainage using SCARP tube wells. Budgetary constraints did not permit sufficient financial outlays for effective O&M of the SCARP tube wells and during the late 90s most of the SCARP tube wells were abandoned and farmers were provided support to install shallow tube wells. Initially, the allocations made for the O&M of the SCARP tube wells were largely due to the low tariff of electricity.17 Pakistan's irrigation and drainage systems have been deteriorating because of deferred maintenance and utilization beyond design capacities.

Cropping intensity is defined as the ratio of the cropped area to the total area. The maximum possible cropping intensity for a given cropping season is 100% when all the area is under different crops. Physical conditions of soil include aspects like soil aggregate stability, organic matter contents, water holding capacity, etc.

17 Kemal et al. 1995.

Waterlogging.

Waterlogging refers to a situation when the water table fluctuates within the root zone depth of crops (cereals, cotton, and sugarcane) fruits, and vegetables for a period long enough to affect plant germination, establishment and growth adversely.18

As per WAPDA’s criterion, the land having a depth to the water table of less than 3 m is classified as waterlogged and further categorized into two classes.

Severely waterlogged area: Area having water table depth ranging from 0 to 1.5 m is called severely waterlogged.

Less severely waterlogged area: Area having a water table depth of 1.5 to 3 m is called less severely waterlogged.

Currently, almost 43% of the area in the IBIS is classified as waterlogged having a depth to the water table of <3 m.

The province of Sindh has the largest percentage of IBIS’s area (81%) classified as waterlogged (Table). In the last few decades, the waterlogged area has increased in the Province of Sindh, whereas the Province of Punjab has experienced a considerable reduction in the waterlogged area mainly attributed to the abstraction of a large amount of groundwater both from public and private tube wells (WAPDA 2005).

Analyzing the trends of waterlogging in Pakistan, data for waterlogging in Pakistan shows that waterlogging has been high in the 1990s due to heavy floods while droughts in the early years of this decade have resulted lowering in water table depth and reduction of waterlogged area in the IBIS (Figure).

The overall analysis depicts that there is no change in waterlogging on an average basis. However waterlogged area was higher in the early 1990s as an area of 15.23 million hectares was waterlogged in 1992 but over time, it has decreased to 7.1 million hectares in 2006.19 Reduction in waterlogging is mainly attributed to the heavy installation of public (SCARPs) and private tube wells and excessive pumping of groundwater.

During the late 90s, most of the SCARP tube wells were transitioned rather abandoned and farmers were provided support to install shallow tube wells.

18 DMC 2002.b

19 WAPDA 2006.

Salinity.

Soil salinity refers to soils having an accumulation of free salts in the surface or profile beyond the level where optimum yield is drastically reduced as per WAPDA’s criterion the lands having total dissolved solids of over 4 dS/m are classified as saline soils. For sodic soil criterion of SAR is suggested in addition to the total dissolved solids. The soil salinity may be due to the presence of saline parent material or it may have developed by human interference. Under arid climates where saline soils are abundant, high evaporation from the soil surface continuously brings up more water from the root zone and through capillary rise, results in salt accumulation on the surface (Ansari et al. 2007). Salinity results in slowing down the plant growth. This reduction in growth depends primarily on the inherent salt tolerance of the plant.

Keeping in view the total quantity of water applied during a given season, it happens even when good quality irrigation water is used, highlighting the necessity to adopt best management practices to avoid or minimize these problems.

The concentration of sodium relative to calcium and magnesium in the soil is defined as the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). SAR is a measure of soil sodicity.20 Saline: Soil containing sufficient soluble salts to interfere with the germination of most crops/plants is called saline. The EC of saline soil is more than 4 dS/m. Saline soil does not contain enough concentration of sodium salts measured in terms of SAR to affect the soil properties and plant growth adversely.21

Saline-Sodic: Saline-Sodic soil contains not only a sufficient quantity of soluble salts to interfere with the growth of most crops/plants but also has enough concentration of SAR to affect the soil properties and plant growth adversely. Such soils have EC of more than 4 dS/m and SAR of more than 13.22

Sodic: Soil having sufficient exchangeable sodium to affect its properties and plant growth adversely is called Sodic soil. Sodic soil has SAR more than 13 but EC of less than 4 dS/m.23 It has been observed that grain per plant and tiller per plant had the sharpest reduction from waterlogging.24 According to results, grain yield per plant was decreased by 60%, tillers per plant by about 50%, and kernel per spike and plant height had a less severe reduction of about 30% and 19%, respectively.

According to the World Bank, the total annual cost of crop losses due to salinity in Pakistan was estimated from Rs. 15 to 55 billion. On average, economic loss was Rs. 35 billion per annum, which is equal to almost 0.6% of the GDP in 2004. It is further highlighted that a 25% reduction in crop production of Pakistan is mainly attributed to salinity.25

Analysis of loss of crop production due to salinity indicated that profile salinity resulted in the loss of crop production of Rs. 2.130 billion which is almost 21% of crop production for the year 1979. The loss of crop production has decreased in terms of percentage due to a reduction in profile salinity. The loss of crop production was about Rs. 82.986 billion which is almost 14% of total crop production for the year 2002 (Table). Combined loss is almost 34% of the crop production for the year 1979 which has decreased to 23% in 2002 due to a reduction in both waterlogging and salinity in this time period compared to 1979 (Table).

20 http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/soilwater

21 WAPDA 1981.

22 WAPDA 1981.

23 WAPDA 1981.

24 Collaku and Harrison (2002).

25 WB 1994.

As most of the people are living in the rural areas of Pakistan, and most of them are engaged in the agriculture sector, any reduction in production and resultantly reduced incomes can push them into poverty. As 50% of poor people are engaged in the agriculture sector, the situation can be worse if these problems are not addressed.

The Way Forward:

Waterlogging and surface salinity has decreased over time in the IBIS because of reclamation efforts like:

a) Excessive pumpage of groundwater;

b) Additional water supplies on saline lands.

On the other hand, sodicity of the land has increased in the IBIS due to the application of brackish groundwater. Although a reduction in salinity and waterlogging has decreased, these problems are still there to the extent of creating a considerable loss in agricultural production.

Economic loss in gross value of agricultural production by salinity and waterlogging during the year 2002 was Rs. 133 billion which was almost 3% of GDP in that year and 23% of the agricultural GDP. This is a significant loss to the agricultural GDP and its contribution to the national economy. This loss is not only in the financial terms but at the same time it is the loss of assets of the poor farmers. It reduces the livelihood of the resource-poor farmers who are normally smallholders.

Some of the smallholders and resource-poor farmers have lost their livelihood due to salinity and waterlogging and they have been forced to turn to beg. An example is the areas around the Chashma-Jehlum Link canal, where excessive seepage from the link canal resulted in water logging to the extent that the landowners have lost their livelihood. The loss of livelihood is a major threat to the security of the country as the major issue related to Pakistan’s economy is unemployment and lack of adequate employability in the rural areas.

The technological and management advancements in the last few decades have demonstrated, all over the world, that irrigation and irrigated agriculture can be modernized where productivity and sustainability can be enhanced and attained on a longer-term basis. The performance of the canal irrigation system can be improved significantly by managing irrigation in the IBIS. The new resources of water in the future would come largely from the saving of existing losses. Therefore an improvement in the performance of the canal irrigation system would not only provide savings in existing water supplies but at the same time would enhance productivity, leading to savings of Rs.133 billion per annum. Some of the opportunities are listed as under:

Integrated Land Use System Covering Crops, Plants, Shrubs, and Grasses:

Where salt-tolerance and tolerance to waterlogging can be considered as the criterion for the selection of appropriate land-use systems. Further integration is needed with livestock and freshwater. Livestock also provides organic wastes that can be converted into organic composts and are essential for maintaining soil health in saline and sodic soils. Freshwater aquaculture is an appropriate method of managing waterlogging at the farm level instead of disposing of the effluents to the sea, which is a constraint. Integrated land use and efficient irrigation would reduce the drainage surplus.aquaculture.

Salinity Tolerating Specially Bred Crops:

Furrow irrigation and planting on beds can provide not only savings in water use and increase in yield rather waterlogging and salinity can also be better managed as compared to basin irrigation. Sprinkler irrigation is effective in managing salinity under basin irrigation where significantly less water is needed to leach down soluble salts. Sprinklers can also be used effectively both for reclamation and management of salt-affected soils.

Drip farming provides an alternative to using poor quality of water in soils that are saline or sodic because the area where trees are planted can be modified by adding organic composts.

Nature farming systems should be developed, using organic composts and bio-fertilizers by developing packages of technology for various agro-ecological zones.

The drainage system in the IBIS has to be made effective for sustaining basin health to dispose of drainage effluents and to enhance the productivity of both land and water resources.26 An opportunity to improve equity, efficiency, and sustainability in irrigated areas:

26 Salinity and Waterlogging in the Indus Basin of Pakistan: Economic Loss to Agricultural Economy Sumia Bint Zaman1 and Dr. Shahid Ahmad Managing Natural Resources for Sustaining Future Agriculture Research Briefings Volume (1), No (4), 2009 Natural Resources Division, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Fighting Poverty.

The full Poverty-fighting potential of existing irrigation schemes is not being realized—largely because of inequitable water distribution and unsustainable land and water management practices.

An integrated water resources management (IWRM) approach reveals opportunities to reduce poverty and improve overall agricultural productivity and sustainability in these systems. Research in has highlighted one such opportunity—integrated management of surface water and groundwater—that has great potential for water-short systems with variable groundwater resources.

By considering groundwater availability and quality when allocating surface water, water managers could improve the situation of millions of poor farmers with inadequate access to both surface water and groundwater and overall productivity in irrigated systems. The prevailing fragmented approach—where groundwater and surface water are managed separately—has contributed to high vulnerability and low agricultural productivity for farmers in the tail ends of canals and to land salinization in areas with poor quality groundwater.

5.1 Lessons for Preparation of National IWRM and Water Efficiency Strategies:

1. Access to water for irrigation does reduce poverty. But to maximize irrigation’s poverty-fighting potential, a specific pro-poor focus is needed. This means ensuring the poor have a voice in irrigation development and management, monitoring equity and poverty within irrigation schemes, and setting irrigation performance standards that include equity, poverty, and sustainability as well as efficiency criteria.

2. Management of surface irrigation impacts on groundwater quality and availability. The two resources are inextricably linked and cannot be sustainably managed separately.

3. When assessing access to water for poverty reduction, quality and reliability can matter more than quantity. Quality and timing, as well as quantity impact yields and influence farmers’ willingness to invest in productivity-enhancing inputs.

4. People, particularly in poor, rural communities in dry areas, often use irrigation water for domestic purposes, small-scale industry, and fishing. Not taking into account these multiple uses of irrigation water in irrigation planning and management misses out on a valuable opportunity to improve the situation of poor women and men—at little additional cost. And it puts these groups in jeopardy and contributes to the deterioration of water quality. When setting irrigation water quality standards, it is important to consider the health of domestic users as well as of crops.

Policy Recommendations for Integrated Management of Groundwater and Surface Water:

1. Groundwater resources within irrigation systems should be mapped and monitored, with respect to quantity/depth and quality.

2. In areas with good groundwater resources within irrigation schemes, farmers should be encouraged to sustainably tap these resources.

3. The availability of good-quality groundwater should be taken into account when allocating irrigation water at the system and distributary levels.

4. In irrigated areas underlain by saline aquifers, irrigation efficiency measures should be promoted to prevent further salinization of freshwater resources.27

Irrigation water quality can have a profound impact on crop production. All irrigation water contains dissolved mineral salts, but the concentration and composition of the dissolved salts vary depending on the source of the irrigation water. For example, snowmelt or water supplies from the Snow-covered Mountains contain very small amounts of salt whereas groundwater or wastewater typically has higher salt levels. Too much salt can reduce or even prohibit crop production while too little salt can reduce water infiltration, which indirectly affects the crop. An understanding of the quality of water used for irrigation and its potential negative impacts on crop growth is essential to avoid problems and to optimize production.28

Dissolved Salts:

Dissolved salts in irrigation water form ions. The most common salts in irrigation water are table salt (sodium chloride, NaCl), gypsum (calcium sulfate, CaSO4), Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate, MgSO4), and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3). Salts dissolve in water and form positive ions (cations) and negative ions (anions). The most common cations are calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), and sodium (Na+) while the most common anions are chloride (Cl-), sulfate (SO42-), and bicarbonate (HCO3-). The ratios of these ions, however, vary from one water supply to another. Potassium (K+), carbonate (CO32-), and nitrate (NO3-) also exist in water supplies, but concentrations of these constituents are comparatively low. In addition, some irrigation waters, particularly from groundwater sources, contain boron at levels that may be detrimental to certain crops.

It should be noted that substantial salinization potential is realized through natural weathering and dissolution of soil parent materials, and these salt contributions will attenuate or augment irrigation water ionic constituents.

Characterizing Salinity:

There are two common water quality assessments that characterize the salinity of irrigation water. The salinity of irrigation water is sometimes reported as the total salt concentration or total dissolved solids (TDS). The units of TDS are usually expressed in milligrams of salt per liter (mg/L) of water. This term is still used by commercial analytical laboratories and represents the total number of milligrams of salt that would remain after 1liter of water is evaporated to dryness. TDS is also often reported as parts per million (ppm) and is the same numerically as mg/L. The higher the TDS, the higher the salinity of the water.

The other measurement that is documented in water quality reports from commercial labs is specific conductance, also called electrical conductivity (EC). EC is a much more useful measurement than TDS because it can be made instantaneously and easily by irrigators or farm managers in the field.29

27 Reducing Poverty through integrated management of groundwater and surface water. International Water. Management Institute IWMI. Global Water Partnership.

28 IMPACTS OF WATER LOGGING AND SALINITY ON CROPS PRODUCTION OF VILLAGE ADINA, DISTRICT SWABI Muhammad Ziad et al.

29 PUBLICATION 8066 FWQP REFERENCE SHEET 9.10 the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu In partnership with http://www.nrcs.usda.gov Farm Water Quality

Salts that are dissolved in water conduct electricity, and, therefore, the salt content in the water is directly related to the EC. The EC can be reported based on the irrigation water source (ECw) or on the saturated soil extract (ECe). Units of EC reported by labs are usually in millimhos per centimeter (mmhos/cm) or decisiemens per meter (dS/m). One mmho/cm = 1 dS/m. EC is also reported in micro mmhos per centimeter (μmhos/cm). 1 μmho = 1⁄1000 mmho. Often conversions between ECw and TDS are made, but caution is advised because conversion factors depend both on the salinity level and composition of the water. For example:

TDS (mg/L) = 640 x ECw (dS/m) when ECw < 5 dS/m

TDS (mg/L) = 800 x ECw (dS/m) when ECw > 5 dS/m

Sulfate salts do not conduct electricity in the same way as other types of salts.

Therefore, if the water contains large quantities of sulfate salts, the conversion factors are invalid and must be adjusted upward.

Irrigation Water Salinity, Soil Salinity, and Leaching:

Many irrigation water supplies contain a substantial amount of salt. For example, a water source with an EC of 1.0 mmho/cm, a quality suitable for irrigation of most crops, contains nearly 1 ton of salt in every acre-foot of water applied. Irrigation can contribute a substantial amount of salt to a field over the season.

Salts accumulate in the root zone by two processes: the upward movement of a shallow saline water table and salts left in the soil due to insufficient leaching. To control salinity from high saline water tables, drains must be installed in the field. To battle against salts that accumulate in the root zone from the irrigation water, the soil must be adequately leached.

Leaching is the process of applying more water to the field than can be held by the soil in the crop root zone such that the excess water drains below the root system, carrying salts with it. The more water that is applied in excess of the crop water requirement, the less salinity there is left in the rootzone despite the fact that more salt has actually been added to the field. The term leaching fraction (LF) is used to relate the fraction or percent of the water applied to the field that actually drains below the root zone. For example, if 1 acre-foot of water is applied to 1 acre of land, and 0.1 acre-foot drains below the root zone, the leaching fraction is 1⁄10 (10 percent)

Infiltration of Irrigation Water: *

There are two water quality parameters to consider when assessing irrigation water quality for potential water infiltration problems. These are the ECw and the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). The SAR is an indicator of the amount of sodium in the water relative to calcium and magnesium. The higher the ratio of sodium to calcium plus magnesium, the higher the SAR. Both a low salt content (low ECw) and high SAR can mean there is a high potential for permeability or water infiltration problems.

A low ECw or high SAR can act separately or collectively to disperse soil aggregates, which in turn reduces the number of large pores in the soil. These large pores are responsible for aeration and drainage. A negative effect of the breakdown of soil aggregates is soil sealing and crust formation.

Below is a table that can be used to assess the likelihood of potential water infiltration problems based on both ECw and SAR.

The good news is that infiltration problems due to low salt content or high SAR can easily be improved by the addition of gypsum to either the irrigation water or soil. When the irrigation water comes into contact with gypsum, it dissolves into Ca2+ and SO42- ions that slightly increase the salinity of the water while simultaneously reducing the SAR. The Ca2+ cations are then free to displace Na+ cations adsorbed onto the negatively charged clay particles, thereby enhancing flocculation, improving soil structure, and increasing the water infiltration rate. Estimating the amount of gypsum to be applied to the irrigation water can be achieved by calculating how much CaSO4 is needed to increase the EC or decrease the SAR. For example, Friant-Kern Canal water has an average ECw of only 0.05 mmho/cm and SAR of 0.6. By adding 6 meq/L Ca2+ (equivalent to 1,400 lb pure gypsum per acre-ft), the ECw will increase to 0.65 and SAR will drop to 0.2. According to table 3, this will substantially improve the quality of this water in terms of reducing its permeability hazard.

* Planning. A Water Quality and Technical Assistance Program for California Agriculture htp://waterquality.ucanr.org

Determining how much gypsum to add to the soil is a bit more complicated than determining how much to add to the irrigation water. The amount to apply depends on the soil, how much sodium is adsorbed onto the clay surfaces, how much Ca2+ is needed to replace the adsorbed Na+, and to what depth you intend to reclaim the soil. Usually, no more than 1 to 2 tons of gypsum per acre should be applied at any one time. Lighter, more frequent applications of gypsum tend to be more effective than a single heavy application.

Other Water Quality Constituents:

Irrigation water supplies, particularly those from wells, can contain other constituents that may affect water quality. Of particular concern are nitrate (NO3-) and bicarbonate (HCO3-). Nitrates are often measured as NO3-N, which refers to the nitrogen concentration in the water that is in the nitrate form. From a public health perspective, there are concerns when excessive levels of nitrates are found in domestic wells. The public drinking water standard is set at 10 mg/L (or ppm) NO3-N. From an irrigation perspective, NO3- in the groundwater can be viewed as a resource. For example, 27 pounds of nitrogen is applied to a field with each acre-foot of water if the water supply contains 10 ppm NO3- N (45 ppm when expressed as NO3-). It is important that the grower with water of such quality reduces the nitrogen application rates in the field accordingly to accommodate this extra input of nitrogen. Should this be ignored, there may be problems associated with excessive vegetative growth and contamination of the groundwater.

Excessive amounts of bicarbonate can also be problematic. In fields that are irrigated with low-pressure systems, such as drip or mini-sprinklers, calcite or scale can build up near the orifice of the sprinkler or emitter, which can reduce the water discharge. This type of problem can be corrected by injecting acid-forming materials (such as sulfuric acid) in the irrigation water. In addition, bicarbonate could increase the SAR of soil water by precipitating calcium and magnesium. This can be corrected by frequent gypsum applications to the soil surface.30

30 Irrigation Water Salinity and Crop Production STEPHEN R. GRATTAN, Plant-Water Relations Specialist, University of California, Davis.

Suggestions to Alleviate Sudden Death in Mago Orchards of Pakistan.

Stoller USA and Sardar Taimur Hyat-Khan Bioenvironmental Consultant to Chairman PARC, Islamabad.

Mango trees have a sensitive root system. All the problems that you describe are primarily due to one factor. The roots in the crown of the trees are declining. This happens over the course of years.

Where the soil is saltier and where the trees are older this problem occurs. The more healthy trees are less subject to this problem. The less healthy trees will suffer all the problems that you described more quickly. In any event, what you see above the ground is merely a reflection of what is going on under the ground. Can these be changed? Can we reconstruct the crown and the roots of a mango tree so that rather than acting like an old tree it will act like a young tree? The answer is yes. People need to understand what we are trying to do. If they are willing to understand and willing to do as we instruct, the mango trees will once again act juvenile, give increased yields, give increased fruit quality, and also be more resistant to various diseases and physiological disorders.

In order to understand what I am telling you, the mango trees, which flower the longest period of days, are normally the weakest trees. They are the ones that will experience sudden death more quickly. The trees that have a shorter flowering period are the healthier trees. The most misunderstood thing is that the trees that are normally the most vigorous can be the ones that are first to experience sudden death.

People cannot understand why this is possible. All of the above that I am telling you is strict because the plant becomes confused about its principle functions. They lose the ability to think. The brains of a plant are in the crown and the roots. The foliage has no brains. there is no long-term solution to your problem as long as we continue to flood irrigate. We are merely raising the salt levels in the soil and weakening the tree roots. As I told you before, trees grow from the roots up and trees die from the roots up. Until we can replace flood irrigation with some type of drip irrigation or film irrigation, so that we can treat the water, there is no possible way to solve the long-term problem.

The only way that we can solve this long-term problem is to work with wealthy mango growers who have the money to properly install and operate a drip or film irrigation system and apply the proper amount of chemicals to the water so that we can continue vigorous root growth.

It appears that the authorities of Pakistan do not want to recognize the problem of high salt levels and the destruction of the soil through flood irrigation. Every year the world loses two to three million hectares due to salt accumulations. With the water system that is available for irrigation in Pakistan, they will join the other Asian countries in losing a substantial amount of hectares for agricultural production. There are many things we could do to lessen the problem. Mango trees begin early dying after harvest because huge levels of ethylene built up in the tree and kill the tissue. This can be controlled. It is a short-term solution. We can delay the death of mango trees. We cannot solve the problem. If the government is interested in just delaying the problem, this can be done.

It can be done with foliar treatments. Again, however, the farmers will not bear the cost to do so. They are not even using proper soil fertilization. How and why would they spend money on foliar applications? I think that we are at an impasse on what the farmers are willing to do. It would be a terrible waste of resources for me to come over there and suggest things that are not economically acceptable.

Taimur, I am going to have to yield to your analysis of this economic problem. In my opinion, it is not an agronomic problem. It is an economic problem. People are spending all their time looking at disease and insect problems. One must realize that the disease and insect problems are only due to the fact that the trees are weak. They do not have healthy growing roots. There is no way you are going to solve the problem of disease and insects by merely spraying poisons. This is taking up valuable resources from poor farmers that could be devoted to solving the basic problem of the mango trees. The typical reaction is against the problem that is perceived; immediate disease, immediate insects, and immediate nutrient deficiencies. This is a cruel, short-term visual response to a long-term basic problem of soil and plant root health.31

31 Correspondence between Jerry Stoller of Stoller International (USA) and Sardar Taimur Hyat-Khan (Bioenvironmental Worker).

Study Requirements:

➔ Irrigation: poverty alleviation and food security improvement.

➔ Demand water management in the irrigation sector.

➔ Water valuation in the irrigation sector, cost coverage, tariff system, and rate level: opportunities and constraints.

➔ Water scarcity, Water Harvesting

➔ Conjunctive use of water to optimize food production

➔ Virtual water concept and food security

➔ Policy options for water-saving in irrigation

➔ Management transfer and participatory irrigation and drainage management

➔ Application of information technology in irrigation and drainage management

➔ Integrated modeling approach

➔ Water quality/salinity management

➔ Role of irrigation in the environmental fate of nutrients (N and P)

➔ Unconventional water use and environmental impacts

➔ Impacts of climate change on hydrological regimes and water resources

➔ Legal and institutional challenges

➔ Capacity building in water and land management

➔ Gender issues in water and land management

Remedial Measures:

'Pukka' Water Channels:

U-shape concrete channel has the optimum water section, good flow conditions, and fast flow; and it’s very strong in the conveying of water and sands; it has high cold resistance and needs little investment. Comparing with a channel built with earth, it can reduce 75% of water leakage, and comparing with a ladder-shaped channel built with concrete, water loss can be reduced by 3.7% per kilometer. U-shape channel is very useful in preventing water from infiltration.

Membrane Filteration:

Unlike conventional filtration which can be maintenance-intensive, costly, and environmentally unfriendly, membrane-separation technology employs crossflow filtration where captured impurities on the membrane are constantly swept away by the concentrate stream. Thus the membrane surface is continuously cleaned, prolonging the life of the membrane and reducing maintenance costs.

In residential applications, RO membranes are used to purify varying qualities of saline water. In a common application, the appropriate RO membrane element is housed inside a pressure vessel that accepts inflowing, pressurized saline feedwater. Crossflow filtration across the membrane then divides the flow into two outflow streams: the cleansed permeate feed and the concentrate or reject stream.

How the Membrane System Works:

The spiral membrane is constructed of one or more membrane envelopes wound around a perforated central tube. The permeate passes through the membrane into the envelope and spirals inward to the central tube for collection.

Water-Saving Technologies in Agriculture:

Preservation of soil moisture:

To preserve soil moisture by deep plowing, loosing soil, compacting, harrowing, intercultivation, weeding, fertilizer application, improving soil structure, etc. to enlarge vital soil pores, to increase the speed and amount of rainfall infiltration, to reduce runoff loss and water evaporation. Thus not only the rainfall conservation capacity can be strengthened; also water evaporation can be reduced.

So, it’s a very efficient measure of water-saving.

Cover field with plastic film and crops straws to save water:

Cover field with plastic film and crop straw can reduce water evaporation and surface runoff, preserve soil moisture, raise the ground temperature, and improve soil fertility. It is useful to raise water utilization efficiency and increase crop yield. At present, this technology is widely applied in arid areas, and plastic film covering technology has been extended successfully in the plantation of vegetables, cotton, melons, sugar-beet, maize, and wheat, etc. with an area of 6.0× 104ha

Research shows that the technology on crop cultivation through the plastic film is an effective measure to save water and increase yield. It can increase the moisture in the soil by 1- 4%; in arid areas and during the growing season, it can save water 1,500- 2,250m3/ha and increase yield by 30-40%. In the irrigation areas of Hexi oasis, comparing with the traditional pattern, wheat planted in the plastic film can reduce 1-2 irrigation, irrigation quota is only 2,250-2,700 m3/ha, which can save water 900m3 per ha In the same conditions, comparing maize without film, maize with film can save water 1,950m3/ ha, increase yield 975 kg/ha, yield increasing rate reaches 11.5%, water efficiency raise 1 kg/m2 For cotton with plastic film, through the irrigation on the film, over 2% water can be saved. With the same yield, wheat, cotton and maize plantation with the covering of crop straws can save water by 23.3%, 14.2% and 29.8%, respectively, comparing with the traditional pattern.

Gansu Desert Control Research Institute is implementing a UNDP donor assisted project-

Gansu Integrated Desert Control and Sustainable Agriculture, trials within the project show that through the application of plastic film covering technology, 3.5× 107m3 water can be saved per year, which is equal to 1/3 of the over-exploited underground water in Minqin per year. The effect of water saving is very great.

Chemical Measures for Water-Saving:

Reasonable utilization of chemical agents for moisture preservation is useful to restrain over evaporation, improve the moisture preservation in the soil, and strengthen the root system to absorb moisture in deep soil. The chemical agent widely used in arid areas is an agent for moisture preservation in the soil, invented by the Chinese Academy of Sciences; yellow acid, invented by the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Science and ABT root-promoting agent, invented by the Chinese Academy of Forestry. These chemical agents have all played an important role for crops growing, e.g., the wheat and maize seeds, after the treatment of agent for moisture preservation in the soil, the emergency rate raised 10-20% and yield increased 15-25%; applying yellow acid, the evaporation rate of leaves can reduce by 19-27%, water consumption in the field reduce by 7-9%, yield increase by 9-12%, water utilization efficiency was raised by 25-35%; if seeds treated with ABT root promoting agent, the rate of water conservation can raise over 20%.

The Selection of Drought-Resistance Species:

The selection of drought-resistance species is essential for the development of water-saving agriculture and forestry in arid areas. Based on local conditions of rainfall distribution, drought occurrence regular and moisture characteristics, select species that need little water and can fully absorb moisture, and enlarge the area of autumn crops. For example, Haloxylon ammondendron, planted at a large scale in the afforestation for desert control in arid areas, has a very strong ability of drought-resistance and has played an important role in the establishment of “three north shelterbelts” in China and the fixation of sand dunes. The research shows that through the selection of drought-resistant species, water utilization efficiency can be raised by 1.5-2.25 kg/(mm· ha) yield increased by 15-30%.

Rational Development and Utilization of Water Resources:

Reasonable Allocation of Water Resources:

It is to make a comprehensive assessment of water resources and then put forward a reasonable regime for the full use of water resources so as to raise water utilization efficiency. For example, Lanzhou University and other institutions conducted researches on the allocation of water resources in agriculture, industry, forestry, and animal husbandry in Hexi irrigation areas, then put forward a regime of rational allocation of water resources in the Hexi region in light of local water resources. This has provided a scientific base for the reasonable utilization of water resources in the Hexi region.

The Utilization of Underground Water:

In the arid areas of northwest China, (2.0-3.0)× 1010m3 underground water can be exploited per year. So, it’s very important to exploit underground water reasonably at the premise of maintaining the ecological balance of underground water.

It’s also important how to exploit underground water. Reasonable exploitation can avoid excess exploitation and waste. The research shows that the distance between single wells should be over 500-800m, between-group wells 300-500m. However, something wrong has been done in the exploitation of underground water in recent years, e.g., it’s not suitable to dig wells in such areas as Minqin of Hexi Corridor, Andonghu region of Shule River basin and the downstream of Tarim River, etc., the exploitation of underground water in these places led to the decrease of the water table, the degradation of underground water and eco-environment.32

Use of Saline Water for Solar Ponds. To Generate Energy/ Mariculture and Capture Evaporation for Freshwater.

Solar Gradient Ponds.

In Pind Dadan Khan District, Punjab, Pakistan where saline water exists, the salt content is greater than seawater. We can generate as much as 35 KW in summers and 15 KW in winters with a peak production as high as 150 KW from a pond of 7,000 square meters. Saline water is allowed to develop a Salinity Gradient due to evaporation and feeding of saline water to the top of the pond.

Thus the water at the bottom is denser and traps and retains heat from the sun. Using Rankine Engines and trapped heat energy is generated. If the pond is covered with plastic to create a Solar Still, a huge flat-plate collector, and if the evaporating vapor is trapped and condensed we can achieve greater efficiencies as well as collect distilled water for drinking and irrigation. Due to the growing scarcity of water, an essential element for survival, alternate sources have to be tapped. Apart from recycling and harvesting, there is a possibility of producing drinking water from solar stills. This principle is simple as the sun’sheat is trapped to heat water to produce steam. The vapor is then condensed to reappear as pure water. The scale of the operation will be determined by need and it can be extended to produce sufficient water for single-family drinking and cooking purposes.

32 Water-saving Irrigation Technologies in Arid Areas. Xu Xianying Wang Jihe E Youhao Zhu Shujuan (Gansu Desert Control Research Institute, Wuwei 733000).

Geomembranes.

A Geomembrane is a very low permeability synthetic membrane liner or barrier used with any Geotechnical Engineering related material so as to control fluid (or gas) migration in a human-made project, structure, or system. Geomembranes are made from relatively thin continuous polymeric sheets, but they can also be made from the impregnation of geotextiles with asphalt, elastomer or polymer sprays, or as multilayered bitumen geocomposites. Continuous polymer sheet geomembranes are, by far, the most common.

Lifetime: 

Geomembranes degrade slowly enough that their lifetime behavior is as yet uncharted.

Applications.

Geomembranes have been used in the following environmental, geotechnical, hydraulic, transportation, and private development applications:

 As liners for potable water.

 As liners for reserve water (e.g., safe shutdown of nuclear facilities).

 As liners for waste liquids (e.g., sewage sludge).

 Liners for radioactive or hazardous waste liquid.

 As liners for secondary containment of underground storage tanks.

 As liners for solar ponds.

 As liners for brine solutions.

 As liners for the agriculture industry.

 As liners for the aquaculture industry, such as fish/shrimp pond.

 As liners for golf course water holes and sand bunkers.

 As liners for all types of decorative and architectural ponds.

 As liners for water conveyance canals.

 As liners for various waste conveyance canals.

 As liners for primary, secondary, & tertiary solid-waste landfills and waste piles.

 As liners for heap leach pads.

 As covers (caps) for solid-waste landfills.

 As covers for aerobic and anaerobic manure digesters in the agriculture industry.

 As covers for power plant coal ash.

 As liners for vertical walls: single or double with leak detection.

 As cutoffs within zoned earth dams for seepage control.

 As linings for emergency spillways.

 As waterproofing liners within tunnels and pipelines.

 As waterproof facing of earth and rockfill dams.

 As waterproof facing for roller compacted concrete dams.

 As waterproof facing for masonry and concrete dams.

 Within cofferdams for seepage control.

 As floating reservoirs for seepage control.

 As a floating reservoir covers for preventing pollution.

 To contain and transport liquids in trucks.

 To contain and transport potable water and other liquids in the ocean.

 As a barrier to odors from landfills.

 As a barrier to vapors (radon, hydrocarbons, etc.) beneath buildings.

 To control expansive soils.

 To control frost-susceptible soils.

 To shield sinkhole-susceptible areas from flowing water.

 To prevent infiltration of water in sensitive areas.

 To form barrier tubes as dams.

 To face structural supports as temporary cofferdams.

 To conduct water flow into preferred paths.

 Beneath highways to prevent pollution from deicing salts.

 Beneath and adjacent to highways to capture hazardous liquid spills.

 As containment structures for temporary surcharges.

 To aid in establishing uniformity of subsurface compressibility and subsidence.

 Beneath asphalt overlays as a waterproofing layer.

 To contain seepage losses in existing above-ground tanks.

 As flexible forms where the loss of material cannot be allowed.

Derivation of Yield Loss Function for Analysis.

Different crops have varying levels of tolerance to waterlogging and salinity therefore causing different levels of reduction for each of the crops. Some crops get severe loss of production due to being less tolerant of waterlogging and salinity. On the other hand, some of the crops have waterlogging and salinity tolerant characteristics, therefore, get less reduction in production as compared to the sensitive crops. Mango is most sensitive to waterlogging and an 81% reduction in yield was observed at water table depth of 0-1.5 m. Similarly, cotton and sugarcane are having relatively higher sensitivity while wheat is moderately tolerant to waterlogging

Due to the unavailability of data for yield reduction of some of the crops, it is difficult to carry out the analysis of loss in production for various crops. Major crops were selected for the analysis for which data was available. As different crops have different levels of yield reduction, a study has used the average value of percent reduction in the yield of different crops for the measurement of economic loss of waterlogging and salinity. On average, about 40% of crop production was reduced at a water table depth of 0-1.5 m. Since data is not available for yield loss of waterlogging at water table depth of 1.5-3.0 m, a 20% reduction in crop production was assumed to measure the loss of production due to waterlogging. Percentage reduction in crop yield due to the high water table in the IBIS of Pakistan.

Salinity significantly limits crop production and consequently has negative effects. Different crops have different levels of tolerance to salinity therefore causing different levels of reduction for each of the crops. Analysis for some of the major crops was carried out to have an approximation for the loss of crop production due to salinity.

Threshold EC shows the level of EC of the soil at which crop yield decreased. Cotton is the most salinity tolerant crop. Cotton crop production was reduced by 10%, 2 5%, and 50% in soils with EC level of 10,12, and 16 dS/m respectively. Similarly, sugarcane and maize are relatively less tolerant to salinity. On average, field crops get a reduction by 10%, 25%, and 50% in the soils with EC of 5.5, 7.4, and 10.6 dS/m, respectively

Economic Loss of Waterlogging and Salinity in the Indus Basin.

Waterlogging and salinity reduce plant growth and resultantly reduce crop production. Pakistan is heavily dependent on the agriculture sector and thus loss of agricultural production poses serious threats to the economy by reducing national income. According to the World Bank, the total annual cost of crop losses due to salinity in Pakistan was estimated from Rs. 15 to 55 billion. On average, economic loss was Rs. 35 billion per annum, which is equal to almost 0.6% of the GDP in 2004 (WB 2006). It is further highlighted that a 25% reduction in crop production of Pakistan is mainly attributed to salinity (WB 1994).33

33 Zaman, S.B., and S. Ahmad. 2009. Economic loss of the gross value of agricultural production by salinity and waterlogging in the Indus basin of Pakistan. Vol. (1), No. (4), NRD, PARC, Islamabad, Pakistan.