Towards Resilience: Strengthening Integrated Water Resources Management

South Asia faces significant challenges in managing its water resources due to high population density, heavy dependence on agriculture, and increasing climate variability. The region experiences frequent floods, droughts, and glacial melt, leading to water scarcity and severe management issues.

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is critical for ensuring sustainable water use across competing demands such as domestic water supply, irrigation for agriculture, hydropower generation, and maintaining ecosystem balance. The water sector plays a pivotal role in climate resilience as it directly influences livelihoods, agricultural productivity, energy security, and public health. However, governance gaps, inadequate infrastructure, and the absence of integrated planning systems make water systems highly vulnerable to climate shocks.

Over recent years, significant progress has been made in introducing IWRM principles into water sector policies and practices. Some key achievements include:

• Comprehensive Policy Reviews: The water sector policy review integrated climate resilience and IWRM principles into national and provincial policies, aligning with adaptation priorities.
• Investment Plans for Climate-Resilient Water Management: Developed investment plans at multiple governance levels to guide sustainable water resource allocation under changing climate conditions.
• Technical Guidelines for Water Planning: Introduced guidelines incorporating climate projections and risk assessment methodologies to enhance planning and decision-making processes.
• Decision-Support Tools for Water Allocation: Implemented tools to optimize water distribution under variable climate scenarios, helping ensure equitable and efficient resource use.
• Institutional Capacity Building: Conducted specialized training programs and workshops for water authorities and local governance bodies on climate-resilient IWRM approaches, improving technical capabilities for integrated planning.

These interventions have strengthened the ability of national and provincial institutions to incorporate climate considerations into water resource management and planning processes.

Drought Risk Management in Balochistan and Sindh: A Strategic Framework

This Framework was developed to examine the responses to drought in provinces of Pakistan and propose a framework for improved drought management. It aims to enhance the capacity of the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs) in both provinces. In Sindh, it aligns with the Multi-Hazard Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (MHVRA) plan, facilitating more effective drought risk management, preparedness, and response planning. Similarly, the framework aids PDMA Balochistan in integrating drought preparedness into its MHVRA. Additionally, the recommendations will assist humanitarian organizations, NGOs, and CBOs in preparing support programs and aligning investments for drought risk management in both provinces.

The Ground Water Information System (GWIS), User Manual

The Manual focuses on Sindh, one of Pakistan’s four provinces situated in the southeastern regions. It offers comprehensive data and mapping tools designed to support the sustainable management of groundwater resources in an area experiencing considerable water stress. By providing actionable insights, the GWIS enables policymakers and planners to make informed decisions to improve water resource management amid rising demand and the impacts of climate variability.

Vanishing Water Veins: Impact of Climate Change on the Karez Systems in Balochistan, Pakistan

This report explores the vulnerability of the traditional Karez irrigation system to the effects of climate change and offers adaptive strategies to safeguard and sustain this heritage-based water source. The Karez system, a centuries-old method of irrigation, relies on a network of underground channels to transport groundwater to the surface for agricultural use, particularly vital in arid regions with limited rainfall. It highlights the growing challenges the system faces, including reduced groundwater recharge and shifting rainfall patterns, which threaten its functionality and the livelihoods that depend on it.

Water Wisdom: Conserving Water for Pakistan’s Future

This report presents a compilation of effective strategies and techniques aimed at enhancing the sustainable use of water in a region facing increasing water scarcity. Focusing on adaptive water resource management, the planning, development, distribution, and responsible use of water to meet the needs of people, agriculture, industry, and ecosystems, it showcases practices that can be scaled and replicated in similar water-stressed contexts. The compilation serves as a valuable guide for improving water security in Sindh and beyond by emphasizing locally informed solutions and integrated approaches.

Site Selection of Check Dams – A Guidance for Pishin – Lora Basin, Balochistan, Pakistan

This Guidance is a technical document designed to support the effective planning and construction of check dams in arid and semi-arid landscapes. Focused on the Pishin-Lora Basin, which includes the districts of Pishin and Quetta in the mountainous region of Balochistan, this guidance aims to enhance water retention, manage surface runoff, and recharge groundwater resources. The document provides a systematic approach to site selection, helping ensure that check dams are strategically placed to maximize their impact on local water availability and ecosystem resilience.

Despite these achievements, several challenges remain:

• Fragmented Governance: Coordination among multiple sectors such as agriculture, energy, and environment remains weak, hindering integrated water resource management efforts.
• Limited Technical Capacity: Many agencies lack the expertise to apply climate data and modeling tools in water resource planning.
• Insufficient Financing: Large-scale water resilience projects require sustainable financing mechanisms, which are currently inadequate.

Lessons learned from project implementation highlight the following:

• Strengthening institutional collaboration and capacity building is essential for mainstreaming IWRM principles in sectoral planning.
• Effective data-sharing platforms and hydrological modeling can significantly improve decision-making but require strong inter-agency coordination and technical support.

To build on these efforts and ensure long-term sustainability, the following steps are recommended:

• Strengthen Institutional Frameworks: Establish inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms for improved water governance, integrating agriculture, energy, and environmental management.
• Scale Up Decision-Support Systems: Expand the use of climate risk assessment tools and decision-support systems for water allocation, drought management, and flood risk reduction.
• Develop Financing Models: Introduce innovative financing models, including public-private partnerships and climate funds, to support large-scale IWRM interventions.
• Expand Capacity-Building Initiatives: Continue developing technical capacity among water authorities, with a focus on digital solutions for real-time monitoring and management of water resources.
• Mainstream IWRM in National Policies: Embed integrated water resource management principles into national development plans and climate policies to ensure coherence and sustainability.

The water sector is central to climate resilience in South Asia, impacting agriculture, energy, health, and livelihoods. By integrating IWRM principles into policy, planning, and practice, and by strengthening institutional and technical capacities, countries in the region can build a water-secure future despite the uncertainties of climate change.