International Workshop
“Benefit Sharing in Hydropower: Examples from Nepal and implications
for other countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayas”
27th and 28th June, 2016, ICIMOD, Kathmandu
Benefit Sharing Mechanisms in the Indus
Dr. Hassan Abbas
LEAD Pakistan
Indus River System
 Indus River
 Major Tributaries
–
–
–
–
–
Jhelum
Chenab
Ravi
Beas
Sutlej
 Mean annual flow
270BCM
2
Indus Basin Treaty 1960
 Engineering Approach
–
–
–
–
Cut
Shut
Dam
Divert
 Left over mean annual
flow 180BCM
3
Benefits
 Hydropower
– Tarbela 3,400 MW
– Mangla 1,000 MW
 Irrigation
– 16 barrages
– 41 canal commands
– 129 BCM
 Left over water flowing
into the sea 30 BCM
4
WorldBank. Better Management of Indus Basin Waters Strategic Issues and Challenges
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPAKISTAN/Data%20and%20Reference/20805819/Brief-Indus-Basin-Water.pdf
Last accessed on 28 June 2016
Benefits – Tarbela Dam
5
Not considered a benefit
WorldBank. Better Management of Indus Basin Waters Strategic Issues and Challenges
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPAKISTAN/Data%20and%20Reference/20805819/Brief-Indus-Basin-Water.pdf
Last accessed on 28 June 2016
Water Flowing into the Sea
6
Calls for More Dams
 Diamer-Bhasha Dam
– 4,500 MW
– 10 BCM storage
 Kalabagh Dam
– 3,600 MW
– 8BCM
7
Benefits
Benefit Sharing
WorldBank. Better Management of Indus Basin Waters Strategic Issues and Challenges
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPAKISTAN/Data%20and%20Reference/20805819/Brief-Indus-Basin-Water.pdf
Last accessed on 28 June 2016
Projected Benefits
8
Irrigation Efficiency
9
Atrifacts of Dams and Diversion
10
Canal Fed Critical Areas (CAFCA)




Very low rainfall
Brackish groundwater
No natural source of fresh water
For communities, canal is the only source of
freshwater
 Canals are scheduled to close from 2 to 6 months in
a row, but there is no institutional mechanism to
provide freshwater to CAFCA communities
 Consequently…
11
Photo: Dr Abbas
Cesspool?
Photo: Dr Abbas
Or Something Different?
Photo: Dr Abbas
And what is this?
Photo: Dr Abbas
Community Drinking Water!
Photo: Dr Abbas
Every Village has a “Diggy”
Photo: Dr Abbas
Every Village has the Same Story
Photo: Dr Abbas
Drinking the Undrinkable
Photo: Dr Abbas
Drinking the Undrinkable
Photo: Dr Abbas
Drinking the Undrinkable
OTHER UNDESIRED CONSEQUENCES
Photo: Dr Abbas
Vast Expanses of Salinity
Photo: Dr Abbas
Abandoned lots due to Salinity
Photo: Dr Abbas
Salinity Attack in Standing Crops
Photo: Dr Abbas
Villages Drowning in Salinity
Photo: Dr Abbas
Vast Expanses of Water Logging
Photo: Dr Abbas
Salinity and Water Logging
Photo: Dr Abbas
A Closer Look at Water Logged Surface
Photo: Dr Abbas
Drains dug by desperate farmers
Photo: Dr Abbas
Failing SCARP Drains
Water Balance
 129 BCM taken out of the rivers for irrigation
 90 BCM taken out of the river by cutting and
shutting
 Out of 270 BCM natural flow through through the
delta into the sea, only 30 BCM left
31
Aftermaths






Eroding delta
Seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers
254,000 acres of wetlands lost between 1984-2004
Loss of biodiversity
Loss of systems capacity to absorb flood peaks
Loss of other ecological services
32
Can New Dams Help?
 Or irrigation efficiency is the answer?
 We already destroyed riverine and deltaic
ecosystems without ever knowing their richness,
nor their role
 How could benefits of mega dams/diversion
projects be truly evaluated without doing the
complete lifecycle assessment?
 The affected communities 1000km down stream
and 50 years ahead in time pay the price without
sharing the benefits
33
True Cost of Dams?
 What is cost of lost ecosystem services running on
270 BCM which are now running on only 30 BCM?
 What is cost of prime costal lands being eroded into
the sea (estimated 8 acres per day)
 What is the cost of lost freshwater aquifers
intruded by sea water?
 What is the cost of lost fisheries, migratory birds,
and cultural heritage of deltaic communities?
 How many other economic externalities are ignored
by the proponents of mega projects?
34
Dilemma
 Projects worth billions of dollars are being
proposed to “capture” the left over 30 odd BCM
still flowing into the delta
 Ironically, no serious projects are being proposed
for improving irrigation efficiency which can
potentially spare more than 50 BCM within the
system
35
The Future
 Do we really need more dams for irrigation or just
need to improve irrigation efficiency
 Is hydel power the best option for future in the
Indus Basin?
36
Photo: Dr Abbas
Are we decyhpering the signals
coming out form future?
37
Photo: Dr Abbas
Did we notice this?
38
Thanks!
LEAD Pakistan