South Asia Investor Review

Pakistan has seen unprecedented rains followed by massive  floods  in the current monsoon season. Hundreds of people have lost their lives and tens of thousands have been rendered homeless. After the unfolding of the tragedy, it's now time for renewal. New green shoots are sprouting in  Thar desert , indicating the end of the long-running drought in Pakistan. The large Indus Basin aquifer has been significantly recharged. Groundwater has been replenished to a large extent for many years to come, raising hopes for more water for growing crops and raising livestock.   Sunset in Lush Green Thar Desert After Monsoon 2022. Credit: Emmanuel Guddu Greening of Thar Desert in Sindh, Pakistan. Source: Emmanuel Guddu The heavy monsoon rains will help to kick-start the sowing of major  Kharif (autumn) crops  including rice, cotton, sugarcane and corn after about a month's delay.  “There was 40% less water available for the Kharif season (during May-June 2022)...

Pakistan has about  1.2 million tube wells  extracting 50 million acre feet of water every year for farm irrigation. NASA satellite maps show that Pakistan is among the places worst  affected by rapid depletion of groundwater .  Water Stress Satellite Map Source: NASA  A recent  World Bank report  titled "Groundwater in Pakistan’s Indus Basin : Present and Future Prospects" lays out the need for better groundwater management in Pakistan. Here are three key highlights of this reports: 1. Improved groundwater management is crucial for a healthy, wealthy, and green Pakistan. Pakistan’s Indus Basin Irrigation System is the largest artificial groundwater recharge system in the world, but the current water management paradigm doesn’t reflect it.  2. Over-abstraction, waterlogging and contamination threaten the crucial role of groundwater as a life-sustaining resource, which has cascading impacts on drought resilience, public health, and environment...

Pakistan Supreme Court has recently taken notice of the drying water pond at Katas Raj temple located in Chakwal district in the nation's Punjab province.   Hindus  believe that it was formed from the tears Lord Shiva shed after the death of his wife Sati. Why is the temple pond drying up? What is happening to the water source that used to keep it full? Is it symptomatic of a much larger  life-and-death issue of  water stress  Pakistan faces? Let's explore the answers to these questions. Groundwater Depletion: Katas Raj temple pond is a victim of the falling water table due to increasing use of groundwater in Pakistan. Pakistan, India, and the United States are responsible for two-thirds of that outsize groundwater use globally,  according to a report by University College London researcher  Carole Dalin .  Nearly half of this groundwater is used to grow wheat and rice crops for domestic consumption and exports.  This puts Pakistan...