15 million environmental refugees in South Asia likely in the near future

By By Shahid Husain Karachi — Global warming and the ongoing thinning of Tibetan glaciers will result in as many as 15 million ‘environmental refugees’ in South Asia in the near future, said Chairperson Hisaar Foundation and member of Stockholm-based Global Water Partnership Technical Committee, Simi Kamal. She made the observation at a selected gathering of experts under the auspices of Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) at Karachi Water and Sewerage Board office here on Monday. She said that it is an internationally accepted fact that the lower riparian had certain rights. She said that it is high time we look into ‘water use’, adding that there are conflicts within Punjab and Sindh but we must not confine ourselves to such conflicts. Kamal further said that Pakistan had one of the lowest storage capacities in the world — hardly sufficient to meet water requirements for 30 days, while two-third of it goes to waste due to seepage. She said that 97 per cent of water in Pakistan is utilised for agriculture but despite this, the country has one of the lowest productivity levels in the world. She said that if water was used in a pragmatic manner, the ongoing water conflict between Punjab and Sindh would be minimised. “In the wake of rapid population growth, more food is required and it is necessary to look at the Punjab-Sindh conflict in a ‘holistic’ way,” Kamal suggested.