How Experts are Shaping Climate-Resilient Water Governance in Pakistan?

News Desk  

Islamabad: A diverse group of experts convened on Thursday for a groundbreaking consultation on community-led climate-resilient water governance models in Pakistan.

Hosted by the International Rescue Committee and the National Disaster Risk Management Fund, the consultation aimed to gather expert insights on enhancing resilient water governance systems and policy reforms to tackle the challenges posed by extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, exacerbated by the impacts of climate change.

Among the esteemed attendees were representatives from Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam; the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources; the Member Planning Commission; the Sustainable Development Policy Institute; ZIZak; USAID’s Higher Education System Strengthening Activity; the Natural Resources Division (NRD); the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC); civil society representatives; and other notable experts in the water sector.

Their participation underscored the critical importance of collaborative efforts to address water governance challenges in Pakistan in the face of climate change.

Shabnam Baloch, Country Director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and Mr. Bilal Anwar, CEO of the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF), facilitated the conversation and emphasized the importance of incorporating the voice of local communities into project designs and policy formulations. 

They stressed the need for active engagement, ensuring water rights awareness, and harnessing local wisdom and indigenous knowledge for project designs. 

Additionally, clear guidelines for engaging semi-urban and urban segments in water governance systems were discussed, along with the challenges of scalability and gaps in the planning of community-driven initiatives. 

Fostering financially viable solutions and addressing hill torrents and urban flooding was one of the key discourse drivers. Participants stressed the need for watershed management, focusing on water safety, research and development, and evidence-based decisions for planning and improvement.

 Experts highlighted the scarcity of skills and technical personnel to promote market-oriented water management and the need for proper data for informed decision-making. 

 They emphasized the importance of documenting lessons from past experiences to inform future strategies and policies, as well as promoting private sector support for value addition in agriculture sectors in hilly areas.

Furthermore, the experts emphasized the importance of community participation at all levels of policy formulation and implementation and advocated for the revival of old traditional practices and indigenous knowledge. 

They called for a shift towards holistic climate-resilient policies embedded in flood management. 

The event ended with a unanimous agreement that policies and programs need to be centered on fostering financially viable and market-oriented water management solutions at the grassroots level, emphasizing value addition, competitive practices, service delivery standards, and balancing supply with demand.