WWF - For a living planet

The Indus is the 23rd largest river in the world. It flows 3,000km from Tibet, through Kashmir and across the length of Pakistan. It has fertile plains, the world’s seventh-largest delta, and one of the largest ‘submarine’ fans in the Arabian Sea. This is an underwater structure that looks like a delta, formed at the end of many large rivers by sedimentation.

The Indus supports a rich variety of birds, reptiles, fish and mammals. Notably it is home to the endangered Indus river dolphin. The Indus plain, where most of Pakistan’s irrigated agriculture takes place and more than 80% of the human population is centred, covers about 25% of Pakistan’s land area.

Threats

Pakistan is in real danger of running out of water. To feed its growing population, it is estimated that by 2025 Pakistan will need more water than the country currently has available. Rural communities in Pakistan already face inadequate access to water. Streams, rivers, lakes and other sources of freshwater are threatened by reduced water flow and contamination.

Agriculture is a major contributor to employment and the economy of Pakistan, but its current inefficiencies often lead to water shortages. While agriculture currently uses approximately 90-97% of the water abstracted from the Indus river and its tributaries, only an estimated 30-35% reaches the crop. The rest is lost from irrigation channels as a result of groundwater seepage, evaporation and as run-off from fields.

Agriculture is also a major cause of pollution due to intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers. Half of families involved in cotton production in Pakistan report pesticide-related sickness and disease.

Reduced flow into the Indus Delta has compromised the health of its mangrove forest, leading to a decline in fish and shrimp populations. About 80% of the five million people who once earned a living from fishing have now left the area, most in search of work in Karachi.

The depletion of natural freshwater sources also places the future of local wildlife in jeopardy.

Solutions

WWF’s Thirsty Crops project is supported with funding from the European Union. Thirsty crops” is a term used to describe plants such as cotton, rice and sugar that require a lot of water.

In Pakistan we are working with the national and Punjab’s provincial governments, as well as sugar and cotton farmers and the private sector. We want to ensure sustainable sources of clean fresh water are available to support livelihoods in poor communities in Pakistan.

WWF is supporting sugarcane and cotton farmers in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur to find more efficient ways of working. This will help decrease the amount of water and agrochemicals they use. In addition, we are offering technical advice, training, and sharing innovative techniques with farmers.

The project will raise awareness among 20,000 farmers of the impact of water thirsty crops and agricultural pollution. We will also demonstrate shortfalls in existing policies and recommend changes to national agriculture and water policies.

The programme will link with partnerships led by WWF that aim to develop international standards for sustainable production and processing. This will create sustainable criteria that commodity retailers and investors can apply as part of their sourcing requirements.

The project is already making a difference. As of July 2008, 1,250 cotton farmers and 650 sugarcane farmers have been trained in better management practices via farmer field schools. About 7,000 farmers have participated in open field days and other project activities. This has led to a remarkable reduction of 16-26% in water use, 55-65% in pesticide use and 25-35% in fertiliser use.

The Thirsty Crops project is supported by the EU.

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This page was last updated 8 September 2008.
    
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