Dublin Statement On Water and Sustainable Development & Kalabagh Dam
Dublin Statement On Water and Sustainable Development & Kalabagh Dam
Dublin Statement On Water and Sustainable Development & Kalabagh Dam
levels to reduce the scarcity, through the following four guiding principles:
1. Principle 1: Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life,
development and the environment
3. Principle 3: Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of
water
4. Principle 4: Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized
as an economic good
Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life,
development and the environment
• Since water sustains life, effective management of water resources demands a holistic
ecosystems.
• Effective management links land and water uses across the whole of a catchment area or
groundwater aquifer.
Water development and management should be based on a
participatory approach, involving users, planners and policy-makers
at all levels
• It means that decisions are taken at the lowest appropriate level, with full public
projects.
Women play a central part in the provision, management and
safeguarding of water
• This pivotal role of women as providers and users of water and guardians of the living
environment has seldom been reflected in institutional arrangements for the development
and management of water resources.
• Within this principle, it is vital to recognize first the basic right of all human beings to have
access to clean water and sanitation at an affordable price.
• Past failure to recognize the economic value of water has led to wasteful and
environmentally damaging uses of the resource.
Agricultural
Protecting
production and Resolving The enabling
aquatic
rural water water conflicts environment
ecosystems
supply
Reports warn that by the year 2025, Pakistan may face a serious water crisis; the World Resources Institute
PROBLEMS
also ranked Pakistan among the 36 most water-stressed countries in the world in December 2013. The
renewable water resources in Pakistan decreased from 2,961 cubic metres per capita in 2000 to 1,420 cubic
metres in 2005, according to UN World Water Development Report.
Kalabagh Dam is to be an earth fill 265 feet high, with water reservoir capacity of 6.1 MAE over river Sindh,
with two spillways for disposal of excess flood water. It will have installed hydel generation capacity of 3600
BENEFITS
MGWT of electricity likely @ Rs1.5 per MGWT, equal to 20 million barrels of oil required for thermal
generation of power causing a saving of at least Rs100/billion in foreign exchange per annum, and
facilitating reduction in power tariffs.
2- Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users,
planners and policy-makers at all levels
“At an accepted rate of $2.0 billion per MAF, Pakistan is dumping $60
billion into the sea per annum. This is an horrendous loss to the nation.”
• Recurrence of maximum flood of 1929 affecting Length of Kalabagh dam reservoir will be 80 km.
Nowshera town and areas iin Peshawar Valley From there the Nowshera city is 110 km far, and if
the dam is full to its ends, the height of Nowshera
• Fear of waterlogging and salinity because of will be 60 feet above that level.
obstruction caused by reservoir water levels to the
drainage of Mardan, Pabbi and Swabi Lands Rather 800,000 acres barren land will be irrigated
with the raise in the level of the river.
• Adverse Effects on the Operations of Mardan SCARP.
This area is 100-150 feet above river level, when the
• Submergence of fertile lands.
level of the river is raised, it would be easily
• Dislocation of large number of people affected by irrigated.
project.
Waterlogging and salinity could not be a problem as
Pabbi which is the lowers land level, would still
remain at least 55 feet above reservoir water level.
• For Sindh, Indus is the only source of water unlike Punjab, Around 1,000,000 acres of land in Sind will be
which gets considerable rain in monsoon, Sidh is a parched irrigated from the water reservoir of Kalabagh-
land getting less than an average of 5 inches of annyal rain. Dam.
• While Punjab has a large reservoir of sweer water under its The fear of sea water intrusion in the Indus Delta
soild from which 350,000 tubewells draw as much as 40 MAF would be further aggravated by Kalabagh is not
of water every year, the subsoil water of most of Sindh is substantiated by factual data.
saline.
Studies indicate that presently the total effect of
• The inclusion of Tarbela Dam in Indus River system
Indus estuary is only limited to the lower most
increased system lossed by 9.3 MAF from 6.9 MAF to 16.2
portion of Delta and gets dissipated below Garho
MAF.
and Chowgazo gagues heights at Garho are
• Kalabagh Dam is constructed, river Indus will have no water completely insensitive to Indus discharges of
in flow and sea water will enter inside the river bed, upto 700,000 cusees.
damaging the lands. (Salt water Intrusion)
• Most Independent analysts believe that the foremost problem with the proposed dam at Kalabagh is one of a trust
deficit between the Punjab on one side and the other three provinces on the other.
• This lack of trust is the fundamental issue in the context of water resources.
• Whether or not the ripe moment has come to resolve the conflict is left up to the best judgment of public leaders.
• The plethora of challenges facing the country warrants that de-escalation is direly needed.
• Despite the best irrigation system the country is compelled to import wheat on credit from abroad and facing severe
electricity problems for the last many years.
• Given that Pakistan has remarkable history of successfully confronting major water challenger, it is hoped that its
enormous human capacity will enable it to confront this challenges as well.
THANKS!