Major rivers, including the Indus, in danger of drying out: WWF

[Neo]

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Major rivers, including the Indus, in danger of drying out: WWF

GENEVA: Many major rivers in the world, including the River Indus, are at risk of drying out because of climate change and dam construction, which could affect fresh water supplies and marine life, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said on Tuesday.

In a report ahead of the March 22 ‘World Water Day’, the Swiss-based group identified 10 rivers, including the Nile, the Rio Grande and the Danube, as some of the worst victims of poor planning and inadequate protection.

“Rivers regularly no longer reach the sea, like the Indus in Pakistan, the Nile in Africa and the Rio Grande ... There are millions of people whose livelihoods are at risk,” said Jamie Pittock, director of WWF’s global freshwater programme.

Rivers are the world’s main source of fresh water, and about half of the available supply is already being used up, he said.

Dams have destroyed habitats and cut rivers off from their flood plains, while climate change could alter the rules by which rivers have lived by for thousands of years, the report said.

Fish populations, the top source of protein and overall life support for hundreds of thousands of communities worldwide, are also being threatened, the report stated.

WWF urged governments to strike agreements on ways to better manage shared water resources in order to minimise damage. “All the rivers in the report symbolise the freshwater crisis signalled for years, but the alarm is falling on deaf ears,” Pittock said.

Other rivers on the warning list were the Yangtze, Mekong, Salween and Ganges, in Asia, the Rio Plata in South America and Australia’s Murray-Darling, WWF said.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\20\story_20-3-2007_pg7_27

 

[HASEEB66]

Britain has again led the world in tackling climate change. British Carbon emissions are to be reduced by 67% until 2050. Major polluters USA,CHINA & INDIA need to follow the example and KYOTO PROTOCOL needs to be revised.

 

[EagleEyes]

hamm we should construct dams......han

How exactly do you think it would help the situation?

 

[Neo]

Britain has again led the world in tackling climate change. British Carbon emissions are to be reduced by 67% until 2050. Major polluters USA,CHINA & INDIA need to follow the example and KYOTO PROTOCOL needs to be revised.

Indus is not going to dry up for another century. Climate change will affect polar regions and lower montain ranges like the European and Australians Alps but Andes and Himalayas will continue to receive sufficient amount of snow due their heights. Glaciers may reduce in size and mass but they won't diappear completely unless the temp rises to above 0 deg. Celcius.

It doesn't mean we're out of danger. On the contrary, global warming will affect us more when it causes surge in water volume caused by melting ice in the snow resulting in constant flooding.

More dams aren't a danger to the river but they will only manage to preserve huge amounts of water to keep the rivers running during dry season.

We need more dams to save Indus.

 

[Neo]

Indus Delta facing threat from large dams

KARACHI (March 28 2007): Country's environmental protection agencies have failed to enforce National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) before construction of mega dams to protect natural water ways of the Indus Delta. The Indus River Delta is facing a potential threat from the large dams initiated by the federal government.

It seems that the government in future will be unable to guarantee water supply of 10 million acres feet (MAF) that was agreed by all the four provinces in the water accord 1990.

The threat to Indus Delta is also sending alarms to about 25 amphibian species and 147 fish species of which 22 are found nowhere else in the world. The World Wide Fund for Nature has revealed this in a report and declared Indus River among World's top 10 rivers at risk.

"The Indus basin is already suffering from severe water scarcity due to over-extraction for agriculture, causing salt water intrusion in the delta. In 1995, the Indus River already supplied much less water per person than the minimum recommended by the United Nations (UN) and by 2025 is predicted to suffer even more sever water scarcity," the report said.

The report pointed out that coastal residence have been unable to raise the issue of water supply through their representatives in the national parliament. "Currently three public sector organisations manage surface water resources and delivery: the Indus River System Authority, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), and the provincial irrigation departments in the country. However, there is no effective method to ensure adequate distribution," the report said.

The Indus river basin spans parts of four countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China) in an area that is more than 30 percent arid, and much drier than the nearby Ganges river basin. The Indus river is critical for Pakistan's 160 million people, and irrigates 80 percent of its 21.5 million ha of agricultural land, the report said.

The Himalayan glaciers provide the Indus with 70-80 percent of its water, the highest proportion of any river in Asia, the report said, adding that river catchments with a large portion of glacial melt water experience less variability in water flows.

"With climate warming, many glaciers will no longer exist to moderate the flow of these rivers. Thus communities which depend on glacier water will face more severe water shortages, variability and potentially greater flooding too." The Indus basin lost over 90 percent of its original forest cover, which provides shade and temperature regulation, can moderate the effect of frequent, short duration storm events and can support natural water flow regimes.

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