A snapshot of the lower Indus Basin
-
Upload
international-water-management-institute-iwmi -
Category
Environment
-
view
872 -
download
2
Transcript of A snapshot of the lower Indus Basin
Cover slide option 1 Title A Snapshot of the Lower Indus Basin
Arif Anwar PhD, PE, MASCE
Principal Researcher- Irrigation, Head of Office IWMI Pakistan
Photo: Hamish John Appleby/IWMI
FACTS AND FIGURES
• The Indus originates in China on the Tibetan Plateau and runs for 3,200 km across northern India and the length of Pakistan
• Indus River Basin encompasses 1.12 million square kilometres
• 47 % in Pakistan, 39% in India, 8% in China, and 6% in Afghanistan
• The Lower Indus Basin extends over plains exhibiting subtropical arid and semi-arid to temperate sub-humid climates with precipitation 100-500 mm.
• On the whole, the high-altitude catchments comprise net contributors to the basin’s water supplies and the lowland catchments constitute net consumers.
• 300 million people live in this basin
• Pakistan uses 63% of water in this basin and India uses
FACTS AND FIGURES PAKISTAN AND INDIA
• Agriculture accounts for 93% of water withdrawn from the Indus
• Pakistan has the world’s largest contiguous system of irrigated agriculture,
• 95% of all the irrigation in Pakistan occurs within the basin.
• 40% of Pakistan’s labour force is engaged in agriculture
• Agriculture accounts for about 22% of Pakistan’s GDP • Agriculture accounts for 17% of India’s GDP
• Occupies 55% percent of India’s economically active population
• The combined Indo-Gangetic Plain constitutes the most intensely irrigated area on earth
IN CONCLUSION Are we doing enough?
• Too little, too slow
• Significant population pressure
• Climate change
• Land degradation
• Socio-economic changes including urban migration
• Business-as-usual approach
• Youth unemployment
• Social/income Disparity
THANK YOU