The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Pakistan on Thursday organized a capacity building workshop titled “Media training for effective reporting on water governance” at a local hotel.
The aim of the workshop was to sensitize journalists on water governance and how better management of water resources can help to ensure availability of water for different sectors, especially agriculture and industry, among others.
The workshop aimed to help journalists understand the complex water issues in Punjab for effective reporting and also discussed the significance of Punjab Water Act 2019 and the challenges in its implementation.
The speakers highlighted risks of climate change being faced by Pakistan in the form of recent flood resulting in USD 30 billion, 1,700 deaths, affecting 33 million people; they stressed the need of small and local water reservoirs to meet challenges.
Pakistan has been listed in top 14 countries which were facing water scarcity, 80 per cent of total available water was being used to irrigate two major crops wheat and rice, to save water and avoid scarcity, modern techniques of irrigation would have to be used.