Watershed management

[uzma khan youzaf zai]

It is often said, and rightly so, that future wars may be fought over water but that doesn’t mean they will be without precedent. Control over this vital resource is an age-old issue with the earliest water-related conflicts dating back to at least 2,500 BC.



Today it is estimated that over 50 countries in five continents could soon be in conflict if they do not agree on a framework for sharing rivers, aquifers and other sources of water. Already there is tension brewing in parts of Africa as well as the Middle East, specifically between Israel and its Arab neighbours.



In South Asia Pakistan is crying foul over India’s construction of dams which have drastically reduced flows downstream. This clear violation of the UN-brokered Indus Water Treaty has dealt a severe blow to a largely agrarian country where over 60 per cent of the population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture and its subsidiary industries.



And then there is the history of conflict between the two countries, making water a potentially explosive issue in the years to come.

Add climate change and shifting weather patterns to the mix and we are faced with a particularly bleak scenario if mitigating measures are not taken at the earliest. As speakers at a seminar in Islamabad noted on Monday, environmental change and threats to water security are not matters confined to political or national borders.



For the collective good of humanity in our part of the world, Pakistan, India and other South Asian countries that depend on Himalayan waters must set aside political disputes and at least begin discussions on joint watershed management.



Reasons of nationalism and past or current disputes must not prevail over the future of a region already beset by poverty. But while we await regional cooperation, Pakistan can help its own cause by focusing on rational use and integrated water management.



Our current profligacy coupled with the growing pollution of watercourses and aquifers is simply not sustainable. The effects of acute water scarcity are already visible across the land and a concerted effort is required to meet the greater challenges that lie ahead.

[uzma khan youzaf zai]

Watershed management recognizes that the water quality of our streams, lakes, and estuaries results from the interaction of upstream features. NIFA programs unite social, economic, and environmental concerns with research devoted to “scaling-up” the cumulative effects of site-specific actions on rangelands, forests, agricultural lands, and rural communities.

Activities of all land uses within watersheds impact the water quality of down gradient water bodies. Point and nonpoint sources of pollution in a watershed contribute nutrients, bacteria, and chemical contaminants to US waterways. Watershed management encompasses all the activities aimed at identifying sources and minimizing contaminants to a water body from its watershed.

The federal Clean Water Act requires each state to conduct water quality assessments to determine whether its streams, lakes, and estuaries are sufficiently “healthy” to meet their designated uses, i.e., drinking, shellfishing, or recreation. A water body that does not meet its designated use is defined as “impaired” and added to a list of impaired waters, also known as the 303(d) List. Each state is required to develop TMDLs, the maximum amount of a specific pollutant a water body can accommodate without causing the water body to become unable to serve its beneficial use, for all water bodies on its 303(d) List. The TMDL process is just one component of watershed management. Effective watershed management is an on-going process that must be flexible enough to adapt to the unique characteristics of different watersheds as well as changing circumstances within a single watershed. It results in reduction of contaminants within watersheds and improvement of water quality.

[Sociologist PU]

In Pakistan the major problems of the watershed areas are over-population, over-grazing, illegal tree cutting and cultivation of land without considering the soil consevation principles.
Watershed management is very important in Pakistan as the country has 2 large reserviors (Terbela & Mangla) and several small ones like Warsak,Rawal
Khanpur dams etc. These dams have vast catchement areas in north of the country that drains water into these dams for irregation and power generation.

[maxood]

whats the role of watershed management in power crisis?and also state measures to boost agricultural economy through watershed management?

[noOne]

@maxood watershed refers to the subjects dealing with water and water related problems.. watershed management helps in power management by lowering the dam siltation and in erosion control methods.. same is the case with agriculture.. it is often said that on high slopes, it takes 1000 years to form one inch of soil..
another one is flood control though that also come under erosion control measures, through various techniques to enhance the water absorption and to reduce the velocity of water