THE escalating disruption in the water’s natural cycle is not just a future concern, but a pressing issue that threatens clean water availability, exacerbates desertification, and poses immediate risks to human life and society. The water’s quality is deteriorating due to human-induced pollution draining it through overuse, climate change, unchecked urbanization, unsustainable consumption and production patterns as well as land development. Today, 2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries, some 2.2 billion people worldwide lack safely managed drinking water and 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation. The demand for water is expected to increase by 50% by 2030. Climate change and population growth are increasing the vulnerabilities of rivers, glaciers, and aquifers.
Pakistan is one of the top ten countries most vulnerable due to climate change. In 2022, Pakistan suffered catastrophic floods that caused widespread damage to its infrastructure, water resources and irrigation sector. Besides, Pakistan is vulnerable to drought because nearly 70% of its land consists of arid and semi-arid areas. Therefore, the government is devising a National Drought Plan to lessen the effects of drought. The government needs to introduce modern irrigation practices to reduce the unsustainable use of water in agriculture. The traditional irrigation style causes water loss and lesser crop yield. Besides, it should introduce and encourage farmers to cultivate drought-resistant crops.
Saudi Arabia convened the ‘2024 One Water Summit’ on the sidelines of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16) in Riyadh on December 2-13, 2024. The summit was one of the efforts to sensitize the leaders and the international community about the emanating water puzzles and persuade them to act collectively on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on freshwater management (SDG-6). The United Nations General Assembly adopted SDG 6 as a dedicated water and sanitation goal at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. It declared the period from 2018 to 2028 Water Action Decade. The SDG-6 identified eight targets, i.e., drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, wastewater treatment and ambient water quality, water-use efficiency and level of water stress, integrated water resources management (IWRM) and transboundary water cooperation, water-related ecosystems, international water cooperation and community participation.
Realistically, the progress toward achieving SDG-6 is not encouraging. Therefore, Saudi Arab efforts to mobilize the international community for water preservation are impressive. Notably, One Water Summit is a joint initiative of Saudi Arabia, France, Kazakhstan, and the World Bank to promote global cooperation and a coherent international approach towards water resource management through high-level political commitments. Besides, it aims to increase partnerships between States, local authorities, development and private banks, businesses, philanthropies, scientific experts, NGOs, and civil society for clean water and sanitation.Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, supports international efforts to clean water and combat desertification. He announced to host the 11th World Water Forum in 2027 in partnership with the World Water Council. Notably, Riyadh had already committed over $6 billion to support more than 200 development projects in the water sector across over 60 developing countries worldwide.
At the invitation of Crown Prince Salman, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif participated in the One Water Summit last week. While addressing the Summit, Premier Shehbaz pointed out, “Water is the lifeblood of the planet; a cornerstone of economic development, food security, and environmental sustainability.” He presented his vision to restore, preserve, and adapt freshwater resources and wetlands. He highlighted the steps initiated by his government to promote water conservation, strengthen climate resilience, improve water quality, create livelihoods, and conserve biodiversity. He drew the participants’ attention toward the “Recharge Pakistan” initiative that aimed to address climate-induced flood risks and mitigate drought impacts through ecosystem-based adaptations.
Prime Minister Shehbaz, during his address, proposed a six-point agenda to overcome water-related challenges, i.e., international cooperation and collaboration to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all; second, exchange of knowledge and expertise, and transfer of technologies on innovative water management on priority; third, adequate funding for climate-resilient infrastructure; fourth data sharing and regional cooperation to avoid conflicts and promote water sharing; fifth, investment in skills development, research, and institutional strengthening, to tackle water challenges, at national and global levels; and sixth, a strong political will and international leadership to overcome the water crisis. To conclude, collective efforts are imperative to devise plans that ensure the sustainability of water resources and the continuous availability of clean water. Prime Minister Shehbaz’s participation in the One Water Summit underscores Islamabad’s realization of the gravity of water problems and determination to act rationally in the sustainability of clean water resources and also endorse and support international initiatives to mitigate the effects of global water crisis escalating due to climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
—The writer is Prof at the School of Politics and IR, Quaid-i-Azam University.
