Interview: 'The narrative around hydro in Pakistan remains superficial'.

More than 80 per cent of the population in Pakistan faces "severe water scarcity". Without change, this is projected to increase. With the water crisis looming over the country, Umer Karim, a development sector professional, sat down with The Third Pole.

Umer Karim is an expert in irrigation and water management

Karim has been working in the field of irrigation and water management for more than 20 years and is a consultant with public and private sector organisations, as well as a regular guest speaker and media commentator.

He discussed dams, Pakistan's water and energy crisis, and the challenges of managing data and water. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Can you explain the debate around dams in Pakistan?

In 2010, all the provinces had a consensus on the Diamer Bhasha dam [a dam being built in northwest Pakistan, which will be one of the highest in the world when finished]. However now the project is taking a lot of flak. It is difficult to understand why they signed the agreement, if it is now believed that we will suffer and dry up as a result.

Some people propose that small dams should be built in provinces. Please invite them to visit Chotiari reservoir, a small dam built on the Nara Canal in Sindh in 1996. No doubt it's very helpful and caters to the needs of downstream areas of Umerkot and Tharparkar whenever there is a shortage of water. But people living near the banks of this dam are badly affected by waterlogging, salinity and land degradation. Small dams may be valuable in sustaining communities, but they need proper operation and maintenance plus remedial measures for waterlogging and seepage.

Usually, dams are built in areas where issues of waterlogging and salinity are expected to have the least impact. Tarbela dam, for example, recharges the area's water tables and keeps them fresh.

Among people interested in the environmental pros and cons of hydropower, there are plenty of discussions, but technical or scientific research or data is not included. The narrative around hydros, therefore, remains superficial.

This year, we did not have water [stored in] dams. Tarbela was emptied for repair work on its tunnels during the dry - winter - period, and Mangla had to provide support for those areas in Pakistan's upper reaches. We are essentially on a direct natural flow of the river, which remained lower than average due to low temperatures at glaciers, and this created multiple problems especially for lower...