Water is the origin of all life on earth and undoubtedly the greatest of all earthly resources which have always been the centres of gravity in human civilisations and biodiversity. Transboundary rivers such as the Ganges, Indus, and Brahmaputra have defined the geography, history, and culture of South Asia for centuries and are critical to economic growth, food, energy security, and sustainable development within the region. Pakistan, which inherited the Indus Valley Civilisation, is home to world’s fifth largest nation of above 220 million people. Pakistan’s Northern Areas have five of the world's seventeen highest peaks along with the world’s highest mountain ranges, the Karakoram and the Himalayas. It also has such extensive glaciers as are sometimes called the "Third Pole”. But over the last few decades, its water resources have come under considerable strain because of population growth, urbanisation, and environmental pollution. This situation has been compounded by poor management of water resources and increasing variability in rainfall and climate patterns causing a crisis as the availability of per capita water has decreased to 1017 cubic metres from above 5000 cubic metres at the time of its inception. This crisis is adversely affecting the life of people and calls for immediate measures on war footing to avert the worst consequences. |