at the time, the Indus Basin Treaty (IWT) is right now under scrutiny in the light of India’s call in August last year for its revision under Article XII(3) that deals with the termination of the treaty and the circumstances under which it could be revised or amended. India’s notice to Pakistan citing “fundamental and unforeseen” changes, signals a shift in India’s stance on water sharing, raising critical questions about the treaty’s efficacy in addressing modern environmental challenges. India’s demand to reassess the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) appears to be stemming from geopo-litical, technological and environmental factors. First, the geopolitical context has evolved considerably since 1960, with tensions between India and Pakistan—particularly over Kashmir—complicating treaty implementation. While the IWT has historically served as a buffer against broader conflict, recent issues like India’s concerns over cross-border terrorism and Pakistan’s reservations regarding Indian hydropower projects have strained relations.Second, technological advancements in river management, such as India’s construction of run-of-the-river hydropower projects on the western rivers, have raised concerns in Pakistan about reduced water flows affecting agriculture and drinking supplies. Although the treaty permits such projects, the absence of modern oversight mechanisms has led to disputes over water usage. Lastly, climate change has drastically altered water flow patterns, rendering the treaty’s rigid allocations increas-ingly challenging to maintain.
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), signed in 1960, divides the six major rivers of the Indus Basin be-tween the two countries, granting India control over the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) and Pakistan control over the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab), with certain allowances for India’s non-consumptive use of the western rivers.
While the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has prevented major water-related conflicts for decades, it has also caused significant environmental degradation in the Indus Basin. The treaty’s narrow focus on water allocations and its encouragement of large-scale infrastructure projects, such as dams and canals, have led to several environmental hazards threatening the basin’s sustainability.
A pressing issue is the disruption of natural river flows. The IWT incentivizes both India and Pakistan to build dams to maximize water usage for irrigation and hydropower, severely altering the basin’s hydrology. For example, dam construction on the Indus River in Pakistan has contributed to delta erosion and reduced freshwater flow to the Arabian Sea, resulting in increased salinity and wetland destruction.
Additionally, the damming of rivers has caused significant loss of biodiversity, impacting spe-cies dependent on natural flows, such as fish. The degradation of wetlands and floodplains has fur-ther harmed vital ecosystems. The treaty’s focus on maximizing irrigation has also led to unsustain-able agricultural practices, promoting water-intensive crops in areas facing scarcity and exacerbating groundwater over-extraction, water-logging and soil salinization.
In the light of the environmental hazards and changing climatic conditions, there is a clear need for a more integrated and holistic approach to managing the Indus Basin. This requires a shift from the treaty’s current emphasis on water allocations and infrastructure to a framework that prioritizes sus-tainability, ecosystem health, and climate resilience.
A key component of sustainable water management in the Indus Basin is the adoption of Inte-grated Water Resources Management (IWRM) principles, promoting coordinated management of water, land and related resources to maximize welfare without compromising ecosystem sustainabil-ity. This approach treats the basin as a single hydrological unit rather than dividing individual rivers between India and Pakistan.
A basin-wide strategy involving all riparian countries, including China and Afghanistan, ensures equi-table and sustainable water management. Additionally, establishing environmental flow standards would maintain natural flow regimes to support ecosystems and livelihoods, enforced through up-dated agreements to prevent excessive water reduction from diversion projects, especially during dry seasons. To address the growing threats posed by climate change, an updated Indus Waters framework must prioritize climate resilience. This could involve the development of flexible water-sharing arrange-ments that can be adjusted based on seasonal or annual variations in water availability, as well as joint flood and drought management strategies. Additionally, early-warning systems and cross-border disaster preparedness programs should be implemented to mitigate the risks of extreme weather events, such as floods and glacial lake outbursts, which are becoming more frequent due to climate change.Finally, promoting sustainable agricultural practices is essential for reducing water stress in the basin. Both India and Pakistan should encourage the cultivation of less water-intensive crops and invest in water-efficient irrigation technologies, such as drip irrigation, to reduce the over-extraction of both surface and groundwater resources.
The Indus Waters Treaty, while successful in its time, no longer adequately addresses the com-plex environmental and geopolitical challenges of the 21st century. India’s call for revision is an op-portunity to rethink the treaty’s framework in the light of climate change, environmental hazards and modern water management principles. By adopting an integrated, holistic and sustainable ap-proach, the Indus Basin countries can ensure the long-term viability of their water resources, pro-mote regional cooperation and safeguard the ecological health of one of the world’s most critical river systems.
—The writer is politico-strategic analyst based in Islamabad.
