IWMI drop by drop innovative to transform KP water management

PESHAWAR—The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) held a high-level meeting on Friday at the Chief Minister's House to discuss better management, conservation, and efficient use of water resources in the province. The Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur was in the chair.

Provincial Minister for Agriculture Major (R) Muhammad Sajjad Barkwal, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Amjad Ali Khan, Secretary Irrigation Muhammad Tahir Orakzai, Dr Mohsin Hafeez, IWMI's Global Director (Water, Food, and Ecosystems), Engr. Muhammad Naeem Khan, Ex-Secretary of Irrigation/Agriculture, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Dr Jehanzeb Cheema, Deputy Country Representative, IWMI; Engr. Habib Ullah Bodla, Science Policy Advisor (Water Informatics), IWMI; Ms Kanwal Waqar, Gender and Youth Specialist, IWMI; and Hafiz Muhammad Yasir, Director of the Jabba Dam Project, and KP Agriculture and Public Health Engineering.

Dr Mohsin Hafeez, Team Leader for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)/UKaid funded Water Resource Accountability in Pakistan (WRAP) Programme, shared insights into IWMI’s ongoing projects in Pakistan. He highlighted using climate-resilient innovative tools to transform irrigated agriculture in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Dr Hafeez also introduced various ongoing technical climate-smart interventions related to water resources management and governance under the UKaid-funded WRAP Programme in Punjab and proposed six interventions for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the WRAP+ programme.

Addressing the participants, Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur said that water conservation and judicious use are the need of the hour, as they have become more relevant in light of climate change impacts.

That's why the provincial government is working under a comprehensive strategy to preserve and use the available water resources efficiently and kindly.

The CM said the provincial government would welcome the International Water Management Institute's technical support. He maintained that the Water Resource Accountability Program will help improve water use efficiency and pave the path to the province's agricultural self-sufficiency. He assured that the government would extend all our support to implement the interventions suggested under this program.

He appreciated IWMI’s efforts to improve water use efficiency and agriculture productivity. He assured full support from the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for implementing the proposed interventions under the WRAP+ Programme. Provincial departments related to water resources were directed to extend their full support to ensure the project's success. The Chief Minister emphasized the importance of evidence-based research and requested IWMI’s assistance in several key areas.

The meeting decided to launch the UK government-funded Water Resource Accountability Program (WRAP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The program aims to provide technical assistance to the provincial government in managing, preserving, and utilizing the available water resources more efficiently and judiciously.

Under the program, the International Water Management Institute will extend technical assistance to the provincial government in six different interventions, including Water.

Accounting and Productivity Assessment Tools, Early Drought Warning System, Water Resource Management Information System, Irrigation Demand Management, Water Allocation System and Capacity Building, and Analytical Support.

This program would initially be launched as a pilot project in two districts, Charsadda and Mansehra, and later replicated in the other districts across the province.

To implement this program, it was decided that proper MoUs would be signed between the lined provincial departments and the International Water Management Institute.