Energy, Water and Climate Change: Implications for Pakistan.

Pakistan’s great cities of antiquity Harrapa and Mohenjo-Daro, the capitols of the Indus Valley Civilization, were founded around 2600 BC on the banks of the mighty Indus River. They were founded in this location because of the close proximity to water and a highway for trade. After some 700 years the Harappan cities began to decline. According to Kenoyer one of the reasons was the drying up of major rivers.

Today, water is no less important to Pakistan and we must be heedful of its fragility, its ferocity, its power, and in the absence of water, its ability to trigger conflict.

Water security is an imperative for the survival of any state. Water security impinges upon all aspects of a society. Water security is necessary for the production of energy, for agriculture, for industry, and for human survival.

In years to come climate change may well cause a shift in prevailing weather patterns in Pakistan. The normal monsoon patterns may well change dramatically. Pakistan, unlike India, is dependent on one river system for the majority of its water and is already one of the most water stressed countries in the world.

In the subcontinent riverine systems are being shared between a number of countries. Starting in the West we begin with Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and finally China. And China, it could well be argued, is the elephant in the room. More