Water scarcity threats to national food security of Pakistan-issues, implications, and way forward

Abstract

Pakistan is primarily an agrarian country with an agriculture sector that is a major source of economic activities, foreign exchange earnings, and the livelihood of the majority of population, caretaker of food and nutritional security, a means to combat rural poverty, and a supplier of raw material for the industries. Out of the total area of 79.6 million hectares, 22.1 million hectares are cultivated of which almost 80% is irrigated and supported with world's largest contiguous canal irrigation system called Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS). However, dependency of this system on transboundary waters is more than 77%. The country has a huge rural population of 132.2 million (more than 64% of total population) which is engaged in some way in on-farm or off-farm activities related to agriculture. Population growth and urbanization are exerting more pressure on the already looming water crisis. This situation is catalyzed by the ever-changing climate. It is estimated that about 70% percent of the total average flows in the Indus system are fed by snow and glacier melt in the Hindu-Kush Karakoram (HKK) part of the Greater Himalayas. Variation in the trends and timing of snowfall and changes in snow and ice melt are erratically occurring due to the climate change, which would have grave implications for managing the basin's water resources. This disturbance in the balance of primary source of irrigation-i.e., the IBIS-would have serious implications on the agriculture sector of Pakistan which, in turn, would be a threat for the national food security of the country. The water scarcity is attributed to many factors, including global warming and climate change, and leads to visualize future trends of water and food stock availability. This chapter is a review and aims at establishing links among water scarcity, climate change, and food security. The discussion has led to proposing some policy guidelines which may help different stakeholders better understand these challenges within the perspective of overcoming water scarcity and food insecurity.