About Us

Pakistan Water Partnership PWP was established in February 1999 Soon after its establishment; Pakistan Water Partnership PWP became instrumental in organizing a number of important meetings at national and provincial levels to attract a large number of stakeholders.Pakistan Water Partnership PWP maintains close relationship with official agencies like the Ministry of Water & Power; Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA); Ministry of Environment, Planning Commission, Provincial Agriculture and Irrigation Departments.

Pakistan Water Partnership PWP Mission

To promote the concept and principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the country in order to meet the growing scarcity of water resources, increasing deterioration in water quality and the looming threat to environmental sustainability and also create awareness at the grassroots level about the need and potential of adopting IWRM techniques and solutions to solve locally water and environment related problems on a community basis.

Pakistan Water Partnership PWP Mandate

In order to carry out its mandate, communicate with all stakeholders in the water sector at the national, provincial and local level to contribute to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals in this connection coordinate between Global Water Partnership GWP and other international agencies dealing with water problems on the one hand and the water sector actors in Pakistan on the other to help solve Pakistan’s water problems.

Key Facts

• Estimated population: 179.2 million (2012)
• Average precipitation: 494 mm/yr (2009)
• Total actual renewable water resources per capita: 1,448 m3/cap/yr (2003)
• Freshwater withdrawal as of total: 1,072 m3/cap/yr (2000)

Geography

Pakistan, with a total area of 796, 095 km2, is located in Southern Asia .It is bordered by India in the east, China in the northeast, Afghanistan in the north and northwest, the Islamic Republic of Iran in the southwest and the Arabian Sea to the south. Pakistan is divided into four provinces, namely the Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.The geography of Pakistan is a profound blend of landscapes varying from plains to deserts, forests, hills and plateaus and ranging from coastal areas of the Arabian Sea in the south to the mountains of the Karakoram range in the north. Pakistan geologically overlaps both with the Indian and the Eurasian tectonic plates, where its Sindh and Punjab provinces lie on the northwestern corner of the Indian plate, while Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lie within the Eurasian plate, which mainly comprises the Iranian plateau, some parts of the Near East and Central Asia. Pakistan is divided into four broad geographic areas:

• The Northern Highlands include parts of Hindu Kush, Karakoram and the Himalaya’s ranges. Mount Godwin Austen, at 8 611 m in the Himalaya’s range, is the second highest peak in the world. The Tirichmir, 7 690 m, is the highest peak in the Hindu Kush range. More than one-half of the summits are over 4 500 m, and more than 50 peaks are over 6 500 m.
• The Pothwar Plateau is bounded on the west by the Indus River, on the north by the Kala Chitta range and the Margalla hills, on the east by the Jhelum River and on the south by the Salt range. The terrain is undulating. The Kala Chitta range rises to an average height of 450-900 m and extends for about 72 km.
• The Indus plain is the valley of the River Indus, a large geographical subdivision of Pakistan. It is bordered on the west by the Iranian plateau (the Sulaiman mountains and the Kirthar range), on the north by the Salt range, and on the east by the Thar desert. The length of the valley along the course of the Indus is about 1 000 km, in Punjab it is about 350 km wide and in lower Sindh it is 200 km. It is subdivided into the trans-Indus plain, the right bank of the Indus, the Thal desert in between the water beds of the Indus and the Jhelum, the Punjab plain, and the Sindh lowlands.
• The Balochistan plateau in the southwest has an average altitude of 600 m and is located at the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau. Dry hills run across the plateau from northeast to southwest. A large part of the northwest is desert. It is geographically the largest of the four provinces having area of 347 190 km2 comprising 48 percent of the area of Pakistan. The southern region is Makran and the central is Kalat. The Sulaiman Mountains dominate the northeast corner with the Bolan Pass, which is a natural route into Afghanistan going towards Kandahar. Much of the province south of the Quetta region is sparse desert terrain with pockets of inhabitable towns, mostly near rivers and streams.The land is mostly used for agriculture and rangelands. In 2009, the total cultivated area was an estimated 21.3 million ha, of which 20.4 million ha (96 percent) for annual crops and 0.9 million ha (4 percent) for permanent crops.

Climate

Pakistan lies in the subtropical arid zone and most of the country is subjected to a semi-arid climate. Based on physiographic factors and causes of diversity in climate, the country has been classified into four major climatic regions: i) the marine tropical coastland; ii) the subtropical continental lowlands; iii) the subtropical continental highlands; and iv) the subtropical continental plateau .

Water is a critical and limiting resource for the country’s sustained economic development. Linked to water, and based on physiography, in 1980 Pakistan was divided into ten agro-ecological zones, these are: i) Indus delta; ii) southern irrigated plain; iii) sandy desert; iv) northern irrigated plains; v) Barani (rainfed) areas; vi) wet mountains; viii) western dry mountains; ix) dry western plateau; and x) Sulaiman Piedmont .

June is the hottest month on the plains and July in the mountainous areas, with temperatures over 38 °C, while the mean monthly minimum is only 4 °C in December/January. The average annual precipitation is around 494 mm, but is unevenly distributed. It varies from less than 100 mm in parts of Balochistan and Sindh provinces to more than 1 500 mm in the foothills and northern mountains of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The mean Rabi season rainfall (October to March) varies from less than 50 mm in parts of Sindh province to more than 500 mm in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The mean Kharif season rainfall (April to September) varies from less than 50 mm in parts of Balochistan to more than 800 mm in the northern Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

About 60 percent of the rainfall in the monsoonal climate is received from July to September. The extreme variability in seasonal rainfall directly affects river flows, which vary considerably during the Rabi and the Kharif seasons. In the northern areas, at altitudes of more than 5 000 m, snowfall exceeds 5 000 mm/year and provides the largest resource of water in the glaciated zone. Around 92 percent of the country’s area is classified as semi-arid to arid, facing extreme shortage of precipitation. Most of the irrigated area is classified as semi-arid to arid. The reference crop evapotranspiration varies from 1 150 to 1 800 mm/year.

Pakistan Water Partnership PWP Recent Events

Pakistan needs effective planning and strategies to overcome water scarcity for the future: Experts revealed on the occasion of World Water Day Conference 2015 To mark the World Water Day (WWD) 2015, the Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform, Government of Pakistan in collaboration with over 28 partner organization, a conference on March 27 focusing on this year’s global theme, ‘Water and Sustainable Development – Role of Youth for Sustainable Water Resource Management’ was organized in the Planning Commission Auditorium, Pak Secretariat, Islamabad. Pakistan Water Partnership (PWP) conducted and organized the conference as a lead agency of the collaborating partners.

The conference aimed at sensitization of key stakeholders on critical water issues and challenges; engaging stakeholders especially youth ; advocating with the Government of Pakistan for approval of National Water Policy and building consensus for the adoption of Islamabad Water Day Declaration 2015’. The conference is organized in collaboration with World Youth Parliament of Water (WYPW), UNESCO, Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Pakistan Water Partnership (PWP), International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Economic Cooperation Organization Science Foundation (ECOSF), Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, FAO-UN, UNHABITAT,Plan International, Muslim Aid, Helping Hand for Relief and Development,
GLOF Pakistan, UNDP, RSPN, ICARDA, Riphah University and WaterAid.

UN-World Water Day 2015-Conference in Islamabad, Pakistan

World Water Day is marked on 22 March every year. It’s a day to celebrate water. It’s a day to make a difference for the members of the global population who suffer from water related issues. It’s a day to prepare for how we manage water in the future. In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly designated 22 March as the first World Water Day. 22 years later, World Water Day is celebrated around the world shining the spotlight on a different issue every year. Pakistan Water Partnership also celebrating the day in Islamabad this year for collaboration among all stakeholders working in water.