ADB acknowledges Pakistan’s gains in water governance, urges stronger coordination, financing

ISLAMABAD, Dec 8 (APP): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday in its released report “Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO)- 2025,”acknowledged Pakistan’s “notable progress” in strengthening its water governance over the past decade, owing to renewed political commitment, targeted investments and institutional reforms.
Since 2013, the report said, successive governments have taken “deliberate steps” to improve national water planning, upgrade service delivery frameworks and introduce policies aligned with standard international practices.
It highlighted the National Water Policy (2018) as a “major milestone” that mainstreamed Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) principles and reinforced the country’s climate and disaster response frameworks.
“These reforms have provided Pakistan with a strong policy foundation,” the report said, mentioning that the country’s water security architecture now covered allocation, resilience, disaster risk reduction and ecosystem protection.
However, AWDO 2025 stressed that despite these advancements, Pakistan continued to face systemic constraints across all five dimensions of water security, primarily due to uneven implementation and fragmented responsibilities at federal, provincial and municipal levels.
The report noted that key institutions “often operate in isolation,” especially in rural water service delivery (KD1) and urban water management (KD3), resulting in low security scores despite improvements in recent years.
It recommended establishing a fully functional coordination mechanism under the National Water Council with empowered provincial authorities to “accelerate reform and strengthen integration.”
On financing, the ADB report acknowledged increased public investment, particularly in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), but warned that funding “remains far below the scale required.” Urban utilities continue to struggle with low cost recovery, high non-revenue water and limited maintenance capacity, leaving informal settlements underserved.
Economic water security (KD2) and urban water management (KD3) remained especially constrained. The report suggested introducing volumetric water pricing to improve agricultural efficiency, boost revenue generation and support sustainability across the sector.
Environmental water security is identified as an area of growing concern. Despite Pakistan’s strong policy recognition of ecological needs, freshwater and marine ecosystems “remain under severe pressure” due to pollution, degraded flows and habitat loss.
Enforcement of environmental laws is inconsistent and monitoring systems remain underdeveloped.
To address this, the report called for establishing a national river-health monitoring system, enforcing environmental flow standards and strengthening pollution controls. “Scaling up coordination among water, environment and planning agencies will be critical to translating commitments into practice,” it notes.
Water-related disaster security also remained highly vulnerable, it said, adding Pakistan continued to experience repeated floods and droughts, yet disaster management and water planning “remain weakly integrated.”
The report highlighted institutional overlaps and a reliance on reactive funding, leaving communities exposed to climate shocks.
It recommended forecast-based financing, strengthening early action systems and ensuring water considerations are embedded in disaster-risk strategies to reduce vulnerability.
The ADB report further stressed the need for more inclusive governance. Participation remains limited for women, minorities and marginalized groups, weakening the resilience and equity dimensions of water security.
Embedding inclusion principles across planning and decision-making, it says, would align investments with local needs and strengthen outcomes. IWRM processes offer a clear opportunity for institutionalizing such participation.
To enhance accountability, the report recommended establishing an independent federal authority for water-quality monitoring, adding Pakistan currently lacked a single institution mandated to enforce national standards, and monitoring remains inconsistent.
Independent oversight, the report argued, would improve service-provider performance, enhance transparency and bolster public trust. It would also significantly strengthen KD1, KD3 and KD4 by ensuring safe drinking water and guiding investment priorities.
Summarizing its findings, the AWDO 2025 noted that Pakistan has put in place strong policies and demonstrated political resolve, but “turning frameworks into action is now critical.”
Stronger coordination, sustainable financing, inclusive governance, ecological protection, disaster preparedness and independent oversight, it said, would be essential for achieving measurable improvements in water security across all five dimensions.