A snapshot of the lower Indus Basin

Cover slide option 1 Title A Snapshot of the Lower Indus Basin

Arif Anwar PhD, PE, MASCE

Principal Researcher- Irrigation, Head of Office IWMI Pakistan

Photo: Hamish John Appleby/IWMI

FACTS AND FIGURES

• The Indus originates in China on the Tibetan Plateau and runs for 3,200 km across northern India and the length of Pakistan

• Indus River Basin encompasses 1.12 million square kilometres

• 47 % in Pakistan, 39% in India, 8% in China, and 6% in Afghanistan

• The Lower Indus Basin extends over plains exhibiting subtropical arid and semi-arid to temperate sub-humid climates with precipitation 100-500 mm.

• On the whole, the high-altitude catchments comprise net contributors to the basin’s water supplies and the lowland catchments constitute net consumers.

• 300 million people live in this basin

• Pakistan uses 63% of water in this basin and India uses

FACTS AND FIGURES PAKISTAN AND INDIA

• Agriculture accounts for 93% of water withdrawn from the Indus

• Pakistan has the world’s largest contiguous system of irrigated agriculture,

• 95% of all the irrigation in Pakistan occurs within the basin.

• 40% of Pakistan’s labour force is engaged in agriculture

• Agriculture accounts for about 22% of Pakistan’s GDP • Agriculture accounts for 17% of India’s GDP

• Occupies 55% percent of India’s economically active population

• The combined Indo-Gangetic Plain constitutes the most intensely irrigated area on earth

IN CONCLUSION Are we doing enough?

• Too little, too slow

• Significant population pressure

• Climate change

• Land degradation

• Socio-economic changes including urban migration

• Business-as-usual approach

• Youth unemployment

• Social/income Disparity

THANK YOU