1. Mirza Hamid Hasan 3 June 2014 Pakistan is predominantly an agricultural country, heavily dependent on irrigation water. Our food security and.

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Pakistan Water Programme Policy Brief

Part I

Policy Analysis in the Water Sector

Mirza Hamid Hasan3 June 2014

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Pakistan is predominantly an agricultural country, heavily dependent on irrigation water.

Our food security and economic development both hinge upon adequate and timely availability of water. Water is our lifeline.

Due to rapid population growth our per capita water availability has come down from more than 5000 cum in 1951 to less than 1000 cum in 2013. Thus we are a water- scarce country now.

Introduction

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Introduction (Contd.) Water availability and population growth, 1951–2025 (Cubic meters)

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In addition to water scarcity caused by demography and economic development the phenomenon of climate change, by now well established and visible, is also posing serious challenges for water sector.

According to studies conducted for the UN by IPCC and for the World Bank by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics, South Asia, including Pakistan, is one of the three most vulnerable regions in the world facing the climate change impacts.

Climate Change Impact

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According to these studies potential impacts will include extreme river floods, tropical cyclones, rising sea level, high temperatures and severe droughts.

climate change shocks will severely affect food production and water availability and energy security.

Studies conducted specifically for Pakistan predicted following impacts : Increased variability of monsoon rains and enhanced

frequency and severity of extreme events such as floods and droughts.

Climate Change Impact (Contd.)

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Severe water and heat stressed conditions in arid and semi arid regions, leading to reduced agriculture productivity and power generation.

Increased upstream intrusion of saline water in Indus Delta, adversely affecting coastal agriculture, mangroves and breeding ground for fish.

Although glaciers all over world have been receding over the past century, those in the Himalayas-Karakoram-Hindukush (HKH) region are receding faster than in any other part of the world.

Note: It may however be mentioned that there are diverse reports and conclusions about glacial meting from different studies.

Climate Change Impact (Contd.)

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It is thus clear that the increasing water shortage and the impacts of climate change would require us to bring about major adjustments in our water resources management and irrigation and agricultural practices.

This would entail a review and analysis of the existing policies and institutions, and identification and highlighting of the gaps requiring to be filled.

Need for Policy and Institutional Review

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Federal Policies 1. National Water Policy The first draft of the Policy was ready by

2003. It has been subjected to a number of

reviews between 2005 and 2008. The revised draft policy has been awaiting

approval since then.

Policy Review and Analysis

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The draft Policy has identified the following areas in the water sector needing policy interventions, highlighting the issues faced by each area and suggesting policy initiatives to address the issues:i. Integrated Planning and Development of Water

Resources.ii. Irrigated Agriculture.iii. Municipal and Rural Water Supply and Sanitation.iv. Maintenance of Supply Systems.v. Water for Industry.

National Water Policy (contd.)

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vi. Water for Hydropowervii. Water Rights and Allocationsviii. Economic and Financial Managementix. Groundwaterx. Stakeholder Participationxi. Flood Managementxii. Drought Managementxiii. Drainage and Reclamationxiv. Water Qualityxv. Wetlands, Ecology and Recreational Water


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xvi. Information Management and Researchxvii. Transboundary Water Sharingxviii. Institutional and Legal AspectsPolicy Gap Analysis The implementation of the Policy, when

approved, would require considerable time and resources and will have to be undertaken in phases.

It is therefore necessary that the policy document is supported by a rough estimate of resources required for implementing it along with a phased plan of action with a timeframe.


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In view of a serious lack of capacity for implementation the policy implementation would have to be preceded by a capacity building programme in the relevant institutions.

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Integrated Water Resources Management would

involve close coordination and consultation with all the stakeholders in water and related sectors.

The best agency for such coordination would be Planning Commission at the time of project approval.


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It has been proposed that in order to promote water conservation water should be considered as a social as well as economic resource. However, its cost should be consistent with affordability.

The policy should categorise the social and economic uses so that water could be priced accordingly.


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Irrigated AgricultureOut of an average 104 MAF of river flows diverted for canal irrigation about 44.25 MAF is lost in conveyance and 26.26 MAF is lost in field applications.The most important measure for checking canal transit losses is canal lining which is missing in the policy recommendations. As regards water loss in field applications, its reduction would require very close coordination between Agriculture and Irrigation Departments.


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Maintenance of Irrigation System Irrigation water must be priced at its real

economic value so that revenue recovery from Aabiana is sufficient to at least meet the full O&M expenses of the irrigation system. The Policy should make a clear recommendation in this regard.

This is essential not only for generation of adequate resources for O&M but also for checking wastage of water.


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Stakeholder Participation It has become very difficult to operate and

maintain the irrigation infrastructure at a minimum desirable level of efficiency and good upkeep without effective participation of the farmers and their representatives.

The draft policy should spell out specific measures for putting in place an effective participatory mechanism, either by revival and strengthening of the existing set of PIDAs etc. or by suggesting the contours of a new structure.


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Construction of Storages for Hydropower and Irrigation

The need for construction of additional water reservoirs cannot be overemphasised. While the draft water policy takes notice of the inter-Provincial controversy over dam construction it does not propose any concrete strategy for resolving this serious issue.

Clear policy measures should be spelt out to remove mistrust and quickly build new reservoirs.


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Groundwater Management Groundwater is now a major source of

supply of irrigation and municipal water in the country. Most of the tubewells are owned and operated by the private sector.

The draft water policy talks of the need for a regulatory framework without indicating its basic contours.


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There is need for a groundwater extraction and usage law, a groundwater regulation law providing for creation of a regulatory body, groundwater exploitation rules, and groundwater regulation rules, in every Province.

There is also a need for undertaking groundwater mapping, and monitoring of withdrawal and recharge in all GW areas in the country. WAPDA is perhaps best suited and equipped for this job.


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Flood Management There is a need to plan and undertake flood

protection and mitigation measures on a basin-wide and integrated manner.

This would involve planning, implementation and coordination across Provinces and across Federal and Provincial agencies.

A consolidated water law covering all areas including river basin management and flood management should be enacted by each Province, under the umbrella of a Federal water law.


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A Flood Management Policy in consultation with Planning Commission, Provincial Governments, NDMA and other relevant organisations.

According as much importance to non-structural measures for flood prevention as to structural measures for flood prevention and protection.

The government’s flood management planning should be mainstreamed into its development policy.


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Drought Management Many of the measures taken for flood management,

such as construction of reservoirs and local rainwater harvesting and storage, are also helpful in drought management.

Judicious and sparing use of canal and groundwater during periods of drought, as well as the use of water efficient irrigation methods, are also important tools for drought management.

A comprehensive Drought Management Policy distinguishing between the peculiar needs of irrigated and non-irrigated areas should be prepared.


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Mainstreaming Disaster Management in Water Policy

The draft water policy should have a section devoted to climate change impacts on water availability for various water uses and necessary mitigating and adaptive measures.

The National Water Policy should also provide for a mandatory Climate Change Impact Assessment for every programme or project involving water resources management or water use on a large scale.


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2.National Climate Change Policy, 2012 This Policy provides a framework for

addressing the issues that Pakistan faces or will face in future due to climate change.

The Policy highlights the vulnerabilities of various sectors to climate change and spells out appropriate adaptation measures. These cover policy measures to address issues in vulnerable sectors such as water, agriculture, forestry, coastal areas, biodiversity and ecosystems etc.

Policy Review and Analysis

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In addition to the impacts already mentioned earlier the policy highlights the following additional impacts specific to Pakistan: Increased siltation of major dams caused by more

frequent and intense floods; Further decrease in the already scanty forest

cover, from too rapid change in climatic conditions to allow natural migration of adversely affected plant species;

Increased stress between upper riparian and lower riparian regions in relation to sharing of water resources.

Policy Review and AnalysisNational Climate Change Policy

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The policy recommends a number of adaptation measures aimed at protecting and enhancing our water security, food security and energy security.

Water Security i. Water Storage and Infrastructure ii. Water Conservation Strategiesiii. Integrated Water Resource Managementiv. Legislative Frameworkv. Capacity Enhancement

Policy Review and Analysis (contd.)National Climate Change Policy

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Food Securityi. Agriculture Sector: The adaptation measures

identified above for water security are equally applicable to the agriculture sector as they would directly benefit agriculture.

ii. Other Measures: (a) Research in appropriate digital simulation models for assessment of climate change impacts on agriculture.

(b) Application of technology to improve crop productivity per unit of land and per unit of water.


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(c) Improving general management in the agriculture sector.

(d) Developing Risk Management System like crop insurance, planting a variety of heat and drought resistant low delta crops, and agricultural drought management practices.

Energy Security Giving preferential status to the development of

hydropower generation. Promoting the development of renewable energy

resources and technologies. Promoting futuristic building designs with solar panels

for energy self sufficiency.


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Planning expansion of nuclear power while ensuring the highest safety standards.

Policy Analysis National Climate Change Policy is peculiar in

the sense that it cannot be implemented by the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) that has framed it because it does not deal with the sectors that would be facing climate change impacts.

Its implementation would be the responsibility of the institutions dealing with those sectors.


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It is therefore necessary that the concerned Ministries, Departments and agencies own this policy and integrate the relevant adaptation and mitigation measures identified in this Policy into their own sectoral policies.

The Ministry of Climate Change can only coordinate with them through Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change.


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3.National Drinking Water Policy, 2009 The Policy was formulated by the then Ministry of

Environment (Now Ministry of Climate Change) to lay down the broad policy principles and priorities for drinking water supply for the guidance of Provincial and Local Governments who are responsible for this service under the Constitution.

Policy Gap Analysis It is notable that the policy has also taken care of

climate change impacts and disaster preparedness and response.

Policy Review and Analysis (contd.)

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However an important point to be noted in this context is the expected increase in demand for domestic water due to population increase and extreme heat caused by global warming.

The of allocation for domestic use will therefore have to be increased by adjusting the share of irrigation water which is excessive at present.

Policy Review and Analysis (contd.) National Drinking Water Policy

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4.National Sanitation Policy, 2006 The National Sanitation Policy basically

provides a broad framework and policy guidelines to the Federal, Provincial and Local Governments to enhance and support sanitation coverage in the country.

The sanitation policy basically focuses on safe disposal of liquid and solid wastes.

The basic purpose of its provisions is to save water bodies from pollution and contamination by untreated sewage or toxic waste.

Policy Review and Analysis (contd.) National Sanitation Policy

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Policy Gap Analysis Sanitation is a Provincial and local

government responsibility. The Federal Policy is only meant to provide broad principles and guidelines for safe sanitation and coordination.

Therefore every Province should formulate its own Sanitation Policy to lay down detailed policy measures.

Policy Review and Analysis (contd.) National Sanitation Policy

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5.National Environment Policy , 2005 The National Environment Policy provides

an overarching framework for addressing environmental issues, natural disasters and climate change, most of which are either directly related with or have an impact on water resources.

In this respect it is almost synchronous with the draft NWP.

Policy Review and Analysis (contd.) National Environment Policy

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Provincial Policies1.Integrated Water Resources Management

Policy, Balochistan, 2006 Balochistan has taken a lead in developing a water

policy of its own. Balochistan’s IWRM Policy is designed to take care

of the following peculiar features: Balochistan receives 63% of its water from floods,

4% from groundwater and the rest from IBIS canals. Excessive dependence on very limited quantity of

groundwater.

Policy Review and Analysis (contd.) Provincial Policies

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Highly arid climate, scanty rainfall, very large land area and a small and scattered population.

Policy Gap Analysis The policy has not taken into consideration the

climate change impacts of high temperatures and extreme events of floods and droughts.

The policy will have to take cognizance of the likely impacts and suggest policy measures for their prevention, adaptation and management.

Policy Review and Analysis (contd.)Integrated Water Resources Management Policy, Balochistan

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2.Punjab Urban Water and Sanitation Policy, 2007 The Policy intended to provide an overarching

framework to guide and support provincial institutions, local government institutions, water utilities and communities for improving water and sanitation services.

Policy Gap Analysis The Policy does not suggest measures to

address the WS&S issues identified in the policy document except in a couple of cases.

It does not identify and address the issues likely to arise from climate change.

Policy Review and Analysis (contd.)

Punjab Urban Water and Sanitation Policy

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End of Part IThank You

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Institutional Analysis in the Water Sector

Part II

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Suitable modifications and adjustments would be required in the relevant institutions in the water, agriculture and allied sectors so as to equip them to adequately respond to the growing water scarcity, challenges posed by climate change as well as implementation of policy reform suggested in part I.

It is therefore necessary to carry out a review of the existing institutional framework and identify and highlight the gaps requiring to be filled for institutional strengthening.

Need for Institutional Analysis

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Federal Institutions 1. Ministry of Water and Power Ministry of Water and Power is the highest policy

making body for the Water and Power Sectors. The Ministry is headed by a Secretary who is

assisted by two Additional Secretaries (AS) and six Joint Secretaries( JS). Out of them one AS (partially) and one JS deal with the water sector. This staffing pattern shows that this sector has been assigned a much lower priority than it deserves.

Institutional Analysis

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Consequently the functions of national level policy and planning of water resources suffer from lack of attention.

Institutional Gap Analysis The Ministry of Water and Power neither has a

Policy nor a Planning wing. There is no in-house technical capacity to

perform these functions. Similarly the Ministry does not have a dedicated

section to undertake coordination with other Ministries or agencies dealing with water related matters.

Institutional Analysis (contd.) Ministry of Water and Power

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The Ministry must have a Policy and Planning Wing (P&P Wing) to undertake policy and planning work at the national level and to render policy advice to national leadership.

The P&P Wing should be manned by qualified and competent technical professionals.

This Wing should also work as the secretariat of the National Water Council proposed in the draft National Water Policy.

The P&P Wing of the Ministry should also have a Water Coordination Cell (WCC) to perform the coordination functions with other organisations.

Institutional Analysis (contd.)

Ministry of Water and Power

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2. Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA)

(WAPDA) was created in 1958 as a semi-autonomous body for the development of schemes in Water and Power sectors.

WAPDA has since been bifurcated into two distinct entities i.e. WAPDA and Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO). WAPDA is now responsible only for water and hydropower development.


Ministry of Water and Power

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Institutional Gap Analysis Over the years WAPDA had built-up a reservoir of

technical know-how and expertise which had made it a talent pool of civil and electrical engineering.

However its technical capacity gradually started declining and has been considerably eroded by now.

Its capacity in planning, investigation and design has also been considerably reduced and most of its projects are now awarded to contractors on EPC basis.


Water and Power Development Authority

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Its Planning Division and Central Design Office need strengthening by inducting qualified and experienced professionals.

It also needs to strengthen its Environment Cell in order to process environmental and climatic data for more accurate forecast.

3. Office of Chief Engineering Advisor and Chairman Federal Flood Commission

The office of CEA and FFC has a dual role to perform- the CEA provides technical advice to the Ministry of Water and Power on projects in the fields of irrigation, drainage, dams, hydropower and allied engineering matters, and as Chairman FFC he deals with flood protection schemes and measures.

Institutional Analysis (contd.) Water and Power Development Authority

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Institutional Gap Analysis The office of CEA is a lean unit with two

engineers each under Engg Advisor (Power) and Engg Advisor (Civil) respectively.

But the team of two assigned to each advisor is not senior and experienced enough to critically appraise the projects or render meaningful advice on policy matters.

Also, being permanently located in that office they perhaps cannot acquire the necessary

expertise and experience that comes from working hands-on in a field organisation.

Institutional Analysis (contd.) Office of CEA and FFC

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It would be advisable to have some of the staff on deputation from other field offices to strengthen the CEA’s office.

The office of CEA may be assigned the following additional functions:i. Monitoring of federally financed activities in the

water sector.ii. Monitoring water sector programmes and

projects with regard to Climate Change Impact Assessment.

iii. Establishment of a national water database.


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In order to perform these functions effectively the office of CEA will need to be strengthened with additional technical staff with suitable qualifications and experience.

The FFC part of the office is better staffed than CEA’s office. AS floods are basically managed by provincial governments FFC mainly performs the functions of flood protection planning at the national level and coordination of Federally funded or donor assisted flood protection projects.

Although it is the apex flood management body in the country yet it lacks the capacity to undertake any work at the policy or operational level.


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Its functions are performed on the basis of data and information received by it from the Provincial Governments, Flood Forecasting Division of Pakistan Met. Department at Lahore and WAPDA, as it has no field staff of its own.

FFC needs to be suitably equipped to meet the increasing demands on it on account of increasing frequency and severity of floods due to climate change.

Preferably it should be made an autonomous organisation under Ministry of Water and Power in view of the expanded role it will have to play for flood prevention and protection due to climate change.


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The strengthened FFC should be assigned the following additional responsibilities:

i. Formulating a comprehensive Flood Management Policy and a Flood Management Plan.

ii. Assessment of vulnerability and risk for different flood prone areas, floodplain mapping and zoning, and land-use planning and enforcement.

iii. Review of the Bund Manual, a 1978 document with a view to incorporating the latest knowledge concerning levee safety.


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4.Indus River System Auth ority (IRSA) IRSA was established in 1992 to implement the

Water Apportionment Accord between Provinces signed in 1991.

Among others, following are the major functions assigned to IRSA:

i. To lay down the basis for the regulation and distribution of surface waters amongst the Provinces.

ii. To coordinate and regulate the activities of WAPDA in the exchange of data between the Provinces.


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iii. To determine priorities with reference to sub-clause (c) of clause 14 of the Water Accord for river and reservoir operations for irrigation and hydro power requirements.

iv. To compile and review canal withdrawal indents as received from the Provinces and issue operational directives to WAPDA for making such releases from reservoirs as the Authority may consider appropriate or consistent with the Water Accord.

Institutional Analysis (contd.)Indus River System Auth ority (IRSA)

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Institutional and Capacity Gap Analysis It is difficult for the Authority to arrive at a consensus

decision in case of objection by a Province because its Members are nominated by the Provinces to safeguard their interests.

IRSA does not have a real time water monitoring system of its own which is essential to remove inter-Provincial mistrust.

IRSA has no authority for relaxation in the rules for reservoir operation if needed.

IRSA will face a lot of difficulty in water allocation during periods of droughts caused by climate change due to pressure from every province for full share.

Institutional Analysis (contd.)Indus River System Auth ority (IRSA)

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5. Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters (PCIW)

The office of PCIW was established in pursuance of Indus Waters Treaty,1960 between Pakistan and India with the following mandate:

i. To establish and maintain cooperative arrangements for the implementation of the Treaty.

ii. To promote cooperation between the Parties in the development of the waters of the 'Rivers'.

iii. To make every effort to settle promptly, in accordance with provisions of Article IX (1), any question arising thereunder.

Institutional Analysis (contd.) Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters (PCIW)

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Institutional and Capacity Gap Analysis PCIW is a small organisation manned by normally

qualified staff. But keeping in view the important role it has to play in safeguarding our water rights and interests under the Indus Waters Treaty , 1960 it must be staffed by hydraulic and dams experts of the highest order.

The Treaty itself provides that both countries should appoint “...a high ranking engineer competent in the field of hydrology and water use” as Commissioner for Indus Waters. This criteria should also apply to other officials.


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The office of PCIW should also be equipped with the latest modeling software to process the data received by them about the Indian projects.

Likewise higher expertise and facilities are required to process flood data received from India.


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Provincial Institutions 1.Provincial Irrigation Departments (PIDs) The institutional framework of PIDs in all the

Provinces is almost similar, except for minor variations.

Their role and functions, except for some differences in the case of Balochistan, are also similar, and the major functions are as follows:

i. Construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of canals and barrages.

ii. Distribution of canal water

Institutional Analysis (contd.)Provincial Irrigation Departments

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iii. Flood control and flood protection schemes.iv. Drainage schemes.Institutional and Capacity Gap Analysis

Since 93% of Pakistan’s surface water is used in irrigated agriculture, construction, operation and maintenance of barrages and canals and other irrigation infrastructure is of utmost significance for us.Unfortunately the PIDs no more possesses the institutional base or the capacity to undertake construction of large structures like barrages or large canals. Most such works in recent years have been handled by WAPDA. There is need to shore up in-house capacity in PIDs for design and engineering of such projects.


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Our irrigation system suffers from huge losses of water during conveyance. There is a need to set up a loss reduction units in the IPDs to address the problem.

water theft and inequitable distribution are also serious problems in the canal distribution system.

Punjab has been able to reduce the problem considerably by setting up the Project Monitoring and Implementation Unit (PMIU) and a complaint management system under it. Other Provinces should also make similar arrangements.


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Groundwater is a major source of irrigation water now. But this important area is conspicuous by almost total neglect of management and regulation by all the provinces.

There is need to set up a groundwater management and monitoring organisation as well as a groundwater regulatory body in every province.


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2. Provincial Agriculture Departments (PADs)

PADs play a very crucial role in irrigation water utilisation by the farmers as well as adoption of water conservation measures by them.

On-Farm Water Management Programmes (OFWM) and National Programme for Improvement of Watercourses (NPIW) have played an important role in saving water through water course improvement, high efficiency irrigation systems and laser land leveling.

Institutional Analysis (contd.)Provincial Agriculture Departments

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Institutional and Capacity Gap Analysis There is still scope for a more active role by the

PADs by institutional strengthening and reorienting.

The use of Efficient irrigation methods and devices has not picked up quickly enough for reasons of high cost, lack of financing arrangements and lack of awareness and technical know-how. PADs should play a more active role to remove these obstacles.


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There is no institutional arrangement and capacity to monitor and measure the success and effectiveness of these programmes in terms of quantity of water saved or water efficiency improvement achieved.

Outcome Monitoring Units should be set up in all PADs.

PADs should set up Water Need Assessment and Coordination Units to monitor farm needs and help PIDs move towards need based water distribution system.


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PADs should make institutional arrangements for providing technical assistance and motivation to the farmers to build rural and on-farm water storages for flood waters and to undertake rain water harvesting and storage.

Provincial Water Supply and Sanitation Institutions

The responsibility for delivery of WSS services was devolved to local government institutions under Local Government Ordinances 2001.


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In the case of rural areas it was devolved to TMAs and in metropolitan towns and City Districts these were entrusted to Water and Sanitation Agencies(WASAs) and City District Administrations respectively.

Institutional and Capacity Gap Analysis The devolution of WSS services suffers from a

number of legal lacunae. i. Municipal bodies, who were entrusted with this

responsibility, are accountable to both the provincial and local governments, but there is little regulation of their performance.

Institutional Analysis (contd.)Provincial Water Supply and Sanitation Institutions

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ii. There is no exclusive legislation governing the subject of water supply and sanitation either at the Federal or Provincial level.

iii. Local Government Ordinances, 2001 only covered the jurisdictional aspect of the service delivery, while important aspects such as policy formulation, water quality, water regulation, water and sanitation tariff, coordination between stakeholders and development of WSS infrastructure are still uncovered by any legislation.


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There is need to regulate domestic water supply and to save the aquifer through a comprehensive legislation. Each Provincial Government, with the consensus of all stakeholders, should enact a Municipal water law.

The WSS service delivery organisations are acutely cash strapped and are dependent on provincial governments for administrative as well as O&M expenses.

There is an urgent need to review the tariff levels and reform the revenue recovery system.


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A mechanism for monitoring the coverage and quality of WSS services should be put in place in every Provincial Government.

Thank you


1. Mirza Hamid Hasan 3 June 2014 Pakistan is predominantly an agricultural country, heavily dependent on irrigation water. Our food security and.

Documents

water availability

severe water

irrigation water

water sector

water scarcity

water rights

national water policy

development of water