Pakistan: raising awareness on water conservation

Simi Kamal heads Hisaar Foundation, a local NGO which advocates judicious use of water and offers low-cost practical solutions. “If we don’t save water now, we will not have enough for anyone,” she said. According to the World Bank, Pakistan, one of the world’s most arid countries, is currently experiencing water stress and will soon face outright water scarcity.

Kamal insists Pakistanis should make a conscious effort to conserve water. “It does not mean a change in your lifestyle; all one needs to do is consciously use less water.” She has put a bucket under her daughter’s shower to collect water. Her modern kitchen has two plastic basins, one with detergent for dirty dishes, the other with clean water for rinsing. Even the water in the washing machine is re-used. “We don’t run the whole cycle but re-use the soapy water to wash our bathroom floors.” In her toilet cisterns, you may find bricks – “so less water gets in there and there is less to flush,” she said.

Tofiq Pasha Mooraj, who hosts a popular weekly gardening show on a private TV channel, and always ends the show on a “use water carefully” note, is one of 200 activists in the Karachi Water Partnership (KWP), founded by Kamal two years ago. It includes government officials, water experts, urban planners, lawyers and economists, as well as schools, multinationals, and even local government departments.

In the last 15 months it has reached out to 200 teachers and 7,000 children in 19 public and six private schools to raise awareness of the need to save water. KWP also repairs pipes and helps raise awareness of sanitation and hygiene issues in government schools.

Women’s Water Network (WWN), formed in November 2008, focuses on urban water and sewage issues. It now has five branches in Karachi. WWN is also working with Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KW&SB) inspectors, making them “water ambassadors”. KW&SB has included KWP’s water conservation leaflet in its water bills, said Lily Khan, programme manager for KWP.

Source: IRIN, 05 Jun 2009