Abstracts
Panel: Revisiting the Indus Water Treaty for Peace and Sustainable Development
Revisiting the Indus Water Treaty for Peace and Sustainable Development
Climate change and IWT: Issues in transboundary watershed management and co-operation
Shaheen Akhtar*
Climate change is emerging as a huge challenge to the world's shared fresh water resources and is likely to adversely affect the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan signed in 1960. This is happening at a time when both countries are increasingly becoming water stressed as their fresh water resources are fast depleting and are unable to meet the demand of a growing population, agriculture sector and increased industrial uses. This has led to an intense competition between the two countries over the supply of water from the Indus Basin Rivers, which after partition became a source of conflict. The IWT is often cited as a model settling water-sharing conflicts in an international river basin. It has survived major wars and caused major conflicts between the two countries.
Climate change that is going to deplete fresh water resources of the Indus basin region was not factored in when the Treaty was signed five decades ago. Climate change and global warming is taking a heavy toll on the Indus Water Treaty. The flow of the Indus river systems, especially the western rivers- Indus, Chenab and Jhelum is on the decline. Global warming, deforestation and the shrinking of mountain glaciers are emerging as major reasons behind reduced flows. The reduced watershed is likely to play havoc with the hydrology of the Indus Basin Rivers.
This paper will look into the impact of climate change on the Indus basin system. It will examine the scope and modalities of cooperation between the two countries in harnessing waters of the shared rivers of the Indus basin. Joint monitoring of impact of climate change on the Indus basin system, transboundary watershed management and declaring all glaciers a protected area are some of the areas where India and Pakistan can act together before it gets too late. The water rational demands cooperation in order to safeguard the countries' long-term access to shared water.
 * Dr. Shaheen Akhtar is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad.
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