Water | Page 1 of 7
Questions to consider before reading
1. Do you worry about the future availability of water?
2. What do you think it would be like to have no fresh drinking
water?
3. What do you think of the fact that most of the world’s population
is without clean water, yet rich countries spend billions on oil,
brand goods, tourism, etc?
4. In pairs, talk about whether the things in the list below are OK,
considering millions of people around the world have no water.
Put a grade of 1 (absolutely vital) to 10 (totally unnecessary) next
to each water use:
Caption
The photograph shows a river in a state, which is far from being affected
by drought, but a girl is carrying bottled water across the flooded river to
Washing the car
Swimming pools
Fountains
Daily baths/showers
Water slides
Sodas
Watering the garden
Other:
stranded compatriots; why?
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Language B (English Higher Level) │ blogs.isl.ch/SEAL
Water | Page 2 of 7
Questions to consider while reading
1. Quickly read the following text by William Wheeler, writing in National
Geographic on October 12, 2011, and identify the type of text: is the text an
article, column or news report?
2. Having read the text, choose the headline (a - d), which you think best matches
it:
a. India and Pakistan at Odds Over Shrinking Indus River
b. Water wars escalate in troubled region
c.
India accuses Pakistan of dirty tricks in water war
d. Floods devastate Indus River region
Nearly 30 percent of the world's cotton supply
percent of its agriculture depends—and a critical
comes from India and Pakistan, much of that from
outlet of hydropower generation for both countries.
the Indus River Valley. On average, about 737
Downstream
billion gallons are withdrawn from the Indus River
strain, with some dried-out areas being abandoned
annually to grow cotton—enough to provide Delhi
by fishermen and farmers forced to move to cities.
residents with household water for more than two
10
are
already
feeling
the
That increases competition between urban and
years.
rural communities for water. Because Pakistani civil
"Pakistan's entire economy is driven by the textile
society is weak, corruption and deteriorating water
industry," said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia
distribution tend to go hand in hand.
expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center
In the port city of Karachi, which depends for its
for Scholars. "The problem with Pakistan's economy
water on the Indus, water theft—in which public
is that most of the major industries use a ton of
water is stolen from the pipes and sold from
water—textiles,
tankers in slums and around the city—may be a
sugar,
wheat—and
there's
a
tremendous amount of water that's not only used,
$500-million annual industry.
but wasted," he added.
One of the potentially catastrophic consequences of
The same is true for India
20
30
provinces
40
the region's fragile water balance is the effect on
That impact is an important part of a complex
political tensions.
water equation in countries already under strain
In India, competition for water has a history of
from booming populations. More people means
provoking
more demand for water to irrigate crops, cool
Pakistan, water shortages have triggered food and
machinery, and power cities. The Indus River,
energy crises that ignited riots and protests in
which begins in Indian-controlled Kashmir and
some cities. Since 1960, a delicate political accord
flows through Pakistan on its way to the sea, is
called the Indus Waters Treaty has governed the
Pakistan's primary freshwater source—on which 90
sharing of the river's resources. But dwindling river
conflict
between
communities.
In
flows will be harder to share as the populations in
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Language B (English Higher Level) │ blogs.isl.ch/SEAL
Water | Page 3 of 7
50
both countries grow and the per-capita water
60
through
hydroelectric
power
schemes,"
said
supply plummets.
Pakistani security analyst Rifaat Hussain.
Mountain glaciers in Kashmir play a central role in
For years, Pakistani politicians have claimed India is
regulating the river's flows, acting as a natural
responsible for Pakistan's water troubles. Hafiz
water storage tank that freezes precipitation in
Saeed, the founder of the Pakistani militant group
winter and releases it as meltwater in the summer.
allegedly responsible for the 2008 terror attack in
"Many in Pakistan are worried that, being in
Mumbai, even accused India of "water terrorism."
control of upstream waters, India can easily run
Despite a recent entente, however, the facts on the
Pakistan dry either by diverting the flow of water
ground—the water constraints in both India and
by building storage dams or using up all the water
Pakistan—have not abated.
Questions to consider after reading
1. The sentences below are either true or false. Tick the correct response and then
justify it with a relevent brief quotation from the text.
a. The river Indus is the main source of fresh water for Pakistan
True
False
□
□
□
□
□
□
Justification:
b. The river Indus supports the world’s biggest concentration of
clothing manufacturers
Justification:
c.
Drought is causing rural to urban migration as farmers loose
their livlihoods
Justification:
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Language B (English Higher Level) │ blogs.isl.ch/SEAL
Water | Page 4 of 7
d. Competition for water is causing corruption
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
Justification:
e.
The amount of fresh water available for drinking is decreasing
Justification:
f.
India has built storage damns to divert fresh water from the
river Indus
Justification:
g. The misuse of freshwater by the Pakistani clothing industry is
the major cause of droughts in the river Indus valley
Justification:
h. Droughts in the river Indus valley have been blamed for the
2008 terror attack in Mumbai
Justification:
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Language B (English Higher Level) │ blogs.isl.ch/SEAL
Water | Page 5 of 7
2. Write these key words and expressions related to the article next to the
definitions below:
Strain
Slum
boom
riot
outlet
accord
Plummet
dwindle
Entente
abate
a. (a formal) agreement
b. a friendly relationship between two countries
c.
a period of sudden growth
d. a very poor and crowded area, especially of a city
e.
to become smaller in size or amount, or fewer in number
f.
to fall very quickly and suddenly
g. to become less strong
h. a force or influence that puts pressure on something, sometimes causing
damage
i.
a source
j.
a noisy, violent, and uncontrolled public meeting
3. Pair these words to make collocations:
a. water
□
population
b. household
□
industry
textile
□
tensions
d. water
□
water
political
□
theft
booming
□
equation
g. cool
□
cities
h. power
□
generation
hydropower
□
machinery
□
crops
c.
e.
f.
i.
j.
irrigate
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Language B (English Higher Level) │ blogs.isl.ch/SEAL
Water | Page 6 of 7
Extended questions
1. Have you ever been without water for a long period of time?
2. What do you think of the idea of water wars? To what extend will richer
countries be affected by them in the near future?
3. How would life change if your town rationed water?
Task
1. This map illustrates the Indus River basin. Use the information in the text and
the collocations in “Questions to consider after reading, question 3” to make
notes on what is at stake in the water conflict between India and Pakistan:
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Language B (English Higher Level) │ blogs.isl.ch/SEAL
Water | Page 7 of 7
2. Categorise your notes into two groups: those ideas, supporting Hafiz Saeed’s
claim that India is responsible for Pakistan’s water troubles and those that reject
such claims.
For
Against
3. Hold a debate to find a solution to the water conflict between India and
Pakistan.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Language B (English Higher Level) │ blogs.isl.ch/SEAL