Pakistan needs to store, utilise flood waters : Amin Aslam

ISLAMABAD, Oct 13 (APP):Adviser to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam has said that the government had been working in partnership with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Chinese authorities to secure the financing to further consolidate its “Recharge Pakistan” project for the country’s future water sustainability.

“We will soon start with a detailed feasibility to construct the wetlands,” he said. “The funds being asked for are in the range of $100 million for the initial phase.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan last year approved the “Recharge Pakistan” program for better management and utilization of flood waters and to restore and recharge groundwater.

The project is part of the government’s effort to fight adverse impacts of climate change and ensure sustainable use of groundwater which is falling by about a meter per year.

“We need to control unsustainable use of groundwater and initiate the planned recharging process,” he said, adding that one of the most feasible options in this connection was to utilize flood waters that come down in millions of acre-feet every other year and get flushed down into the Arabian Sea.

“This is a rare and very valuable freshwater resource which can be diverted to around 15 wetland sites along the Indus banks to not only restore their natural ecosystems but also recharge the underground aquifer,” he said in an interview with Arab News .

Citing example of China, the adviser said that the Three Gorges Dam had utilized the concept of creating bigger lakes downstream and use them to recharge the underground aquifer.