Two Years in the Life of the Indus River Basin [book chapter]

Abstract

Reviews the major challenges and current water and agriculture context, plans, and policies following difficult years of drought and catastrophic monsoon flooding in Pakistan's Indus Basin. The years from 2009 through 2011 offer a perspective on the current challenges of water and food security, along with mounting future uncertainties that the federal and provincial governments must face. The prospects of climate change amplify these concerns, and with growing populations and increasing water demand across all sectors, these risks must be anticipated and managed. The following four needs stand out: (1) a wider perspective on the policy environment, (2) expansion of the scientific basis for snow and ice hydrology in the upper basin, (3) advanced and updated modeling of hydroclimatic impacts on water and food systems using the IBMR (Indus Basin Model, revised), and (4) agro-economic modeling with a more sophisticated computable general equilibrium (CGE) and social accounting matrix (SAM) approach.