POLITICS OF WATER A STUDY INTO DAMS’ CONTROVERSY IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Water is used for agriculture, industrial as well as domestic purposes throughout the world. Because of poor water management and increase in population, the demand for more water is also increasing. Therefore, it is projected that the future economic development of any state will be seriously affected by expected challenges like food, energy, and water shortages, particularly, if proper development, planning, and management policies are not implemented. To meet the water demand, various states are constructing reservoirs for water storage. However, construction of a reservoir might cause disagreement over water resources between the states and within the states. The state of Pakistan has insufficient water storage capacity and the demand for water is increasing, but construction of Dams has triggered various conflicts between the central and provincial administrations and amongst the provinces in the form of deep distrust This paper investigates the various water related controversies and develops a macro theoretical insight of the problem. The key objective of this article is to identify the root causes of the dams’ controversy and recommend policy alternatives for resolving water conflicts in Pakistan. The study is qualitative in nature and relies dominantly on the secondary sources for argument development and substantiation.