Water & Environmental Crisis

 

Click here to read WSI’s Fact Sheet on the Environmental Crisis in Sindh. 

 

 

Dams and Barrages Along the Indus River

 

 

Since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the people of Sindh, in the southeastern province, have endured discrimination and repression in many guises.  Today that has manifested into an acute, unprecedented and artificial shortage of water.  Non-adherence to water accords, water diversion and theft, inequitable water distribution and the construction of dams and canals along the Indus River have severely reduced Sindh’s share of the water.  The forced drought threatens to destroy the fragile ecosystems and agriculture of Sindh and violate the Sindhis’ most basic human right.  Contrary to the spirit of the United Nations’ Rio Declaration (1992) that states that flood management, water supply, power, and irrigation needs must be obtained through informed and sustainable processes, the Pakistan authorities have begun the construction of the Thal Canal .  This denial of justice bodes ill for Sindh and can cause terrible devastation, such as:

 

  • Catastrophic social and economic conditions in Sindh.

  • Annihilation of the blind Indus dolphin, pallo (shad) and dangri and the destruction of fisheries, fertile farmlands, and ancient mangroves.

  • Further saltwater-intrusion thrusting the Badin, Thatta and Hyderabad districts into widespread drought.

  • Disintegration, economic impoverishment and displacement of indigenous populations.

Sindhis Protest the Thal Canal in Sindh

 

WSI staff members attended the World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) in order to lobby internationally for the termination of the Indus River constructions.  Following the Summit , WSI continues to collect signatures on the letter to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan that discusses the water crisis.  Additionally, WSI’s upcoming conference will focus on this issue and its impact on the future of Sindh and greater Pakistan .

 

For a detailed analysis of Sindh's water crisis, click here, to view "An Overview of the History and Impacts of the Water Issue in Pakistan".

 

  • Click here to view the article on Water Wars by Mohammad Mesbahi published by Peace Journalism an Independent EMagazine.

  • Click here to view the acticle "Evaluation of Impacts on the Lower Indus River Basin Due to Upstream Water Storage and Diversion" by Altaf A. Memon.

  • Click here to view the article "Water Shortage in Sindh: Causes and Consequences" by Mir Atta Muhammad Talpur.

  • Click here to visit the Pakistan Water Gateway, a compilation of current news articles on Pakistan’s water supplies.

  • Click here for a recent article in Urdu on the struggles of the Blind Indus Dolphin, native to Sindh.

  • Click here to view the acticle "Devastation of the Indus River Delta" presented at Anchorage, Alaska by Altaf A. Memon.

  • Click here to view the Letter sent by WSI to the World Bank asking for their statement concerning the Kalabagh Dam.

  • Click here to view the Letter sent by the World Bank to WSI answering for their statement concerning the Kalabagh Dam.