Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 19: Two-day long Indo-Pak round table on water organised by Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation (CDR) concluded at Bangalore.
The round table consisted of 7 scientists and environmentalists of both nations to evolve a consensus through a track II diplomacy initiative on common initiatives possible in collating and studying data on water content, conservation, contamination and depletion with a view to have a parallel approach to water security of the region.
According to a statement issued by Sushobha Barve, Executive Director, CDR, during the round table the discussion centered on synergies in the field of water management in the sub continent, the stress to shared aquifers, climate change, demographic change, disaster management sharing and water quality concerns.
The participants felt that some regions in both countries are facing water scarcity, which are likely to be exacerbated in the future due to the negative impact of climate change.
They noted that there is lack of adequate data on various aspects of climate change and its impact on various sectors including water resources. This could be addressed if institutes/experts from two sides joined hands to generate credible knowledge to guide policy decisions for sustainability managing waters in the basin.
They also noted that up-to-date data on various land and water resources in the Indus should be available to the people from the two countries for developing strategies for managing depleting water resources.
Accordingly, it was suggested that a web-based Indus basin resource centre needs to be set up for the hosting and sharing of the available data and information.
The participants decided to take up coordinated studies addressing issues of common concerns related to water, climate change and socio-economic aspects to arrive at joint recommendations. The partners from both countries were identified and the list shall be finalized and broadened over the next few months.
It was also decided that experts representing the identified institutes from both the countries shall formulate a concept note for the studies within 3 months.
The group from Pakistan consisted of Shafqat Kakakhel, Ex-Ambassador to Nairobi, Suleman Najib Khan and Ahmad Rafay Alam.
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