Dublin Statement on

Water and Sustainable

Development
&
KALABAGH DAM
• The Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development, also

known as the Dublin Principles, was a meeting of experts on water

related problems that took place on 31 January 1992 at the International

Conference on Water and the Environment (ICWE), Dublin, Ireland,

organized on 26–31 January 1992.

• The Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development

recognizes the increasing scarcity of water as a result of the different

conflicting uses and overuses of water.

• The declaration sets out recommendations for action at local, national and international

levels to reduce the scarcity, through the following four guiding principles:

1. Principle 1: Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life,
development and the environment

2. Principle 2: Water development and management should be based on a participatory

approach, involving users, planners and policy-makers at all levels

3. Principle 3: Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of
water

4. Principle 4: Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized
as an economic good
Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life,
development and the environment

• Since water sustains life, effective management of water resources demands a holistic

approach, linking social and economic development with protection of natural

ecosystems.

• Effective management links land and water uses across the whole of a catchment area or

groundwater aquifer.
 Water development and management should be based on a
participatory approach, involving users, planners and policy-makers
at all levels

• The participatory approach involves raising awareness of the importance of water

among policy-makers and the general public.

• It means that decisions are taken at the lowest appropriate level, with full public

consultation and involvement of users in the planning and implementation of water

projects.
 Women play a central part in the provision, management and
safeguarding of water

• This pivotal role of women as providers and users of water and guardians of the living
environment has seldom been reflected in institutional arrangements for the development
and management of water resources.

• Acceptance and implementation of this principle requires positive policies to address

women's specific needs and to equip and empower women to participate at all levels in
water resources programmes, including decision-making and implementation, in ways
defined by them
 Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be
recognized as an economic good

• Within this principle, it is vital to recognize first the basic right of all human beings to have
access to clean water and sanitation at an affordable price.

• Past failure to recognize the economic value of water has led to wasteful and
environmentally damaging uses of the resource.

• Managing water as an economic good is an important way of achieving efficient and

equitable use, and of encouraging conservation and protection of water resources.
Based on these four guiding principles, the Conference participants developed
recommendations which enable countries to tackle their water resources problems on a
wide range of fronts. The major benefits to come from implementation of the Dublin
recommendations will be:

Alleviation of Protection Water Sustainable

poverty and against natural conservation urban
disease disasters and reuse development

Agricultural
Protecting
production and Resolving The enabling
aquatic
rural water water conflicts environment
ecosystems
supply

The knowledge Capacity

base building
 1- Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment

As mentioned in above principle, water is a finite and vulnerable

resource. In view of the protecting water from wastage and to put it
into the most beneficial use, Kalabagh Dam is essential So that the
benefits from water of Indus River can be fully utilized.

Kalabgh Dam would play pivotal rule in uplifting the socio-economic

conditions for millions of people of Pakistan, as it is evident from the
following facts.

Reports warn that by the year 2025, Pakistan may face a serious water crisis; the World Resources Institute
PROBLEMS

also ranked Pakistan among the 36 most water-stressed countries in the world in December 2013. The
renewable water resources in Pakistan decreased from 2,961 cubic metres per capita in 2000 to 1,420 cubic
metres in 2005, according to UN World Water Development Report.

Kalabagh Dam is to be an earth fill 265 feet high, with water reservoir capacity of 6.1 MAE over river Sindh,
with two spillways for disposal of excess flood water. It will have installed hydel generation capacity of 3600
BENEFITS

MGWT of electricity likely @ Rs1.5 per MGWT, equal to 20 million barrels of oil required for thermal
generation of power causing a saving of at least Rs100/billion in foreign exchange per annum, and
facilitating reduction in power tariffs.
 2- Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users,
planners and policy-makers at all levels

“I assure you: as long as the people of Sindh do not

decide that if the dam is constructed their water will
• It is a bitter fact that Pakistan is facing water scarcity problem not be stolen, (Kalabagh) dam will not be
constructed,”

intensity of which is increasing with very passing day.

• The much elusive national consensus on Kalabagh dam can

“Nobody could dare build the controversial
undoubtedly be developed quite smoothly provided the political Kalabagh dam because it will drown our children
and turn the land of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
infertile”.
leadership of the federating units sit across the table and discuss
the burning issue with open minds and hearts.
“We Have Closed the Chapter of
Kalabagh Dam”
• Political leaders realize fully the benefits which will accrue to the
country and the nation with the construction of Kalabagh dam but
somehow they cannot support it, as they are heard saying, because
“National consensus required on
they have previously opposed it publicly. Kalabagh dam issue”
4- Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized as
an economic good.

“At an accepted rate of $2.0 billion per MAF, Pakistan is dumping $60
billion into the sea per annum. This is an horrendous loss to the nation.”

As mentioned in Dublin Principle i.e. water has an economic value

therefore should be seen has a economic good, by building Kalabagh Dam
we would be getting value of almost $12 Billion as dam would have 6
Million acre-feet capacity.
 Concerns of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)
• Recurrence of maximum flood of 1929 affecting
Nowshera town and areas iin Peshawar Valley
• Fear of waterlogging and salinity because of
obstruction caused by reservoir water levels to the
drainage of Mardan, Pabbi and Swabi Lands
• Adverse Effects on the Operations of Mardan SCARP.
• Submergence of fertile lands.
• Dislocation of large number of people affected by
project.
The case for Kalabagh Dam by B. A. Malik
RESPONCE
Length of Kalabagh dam reservoir will be 80 km.
From there the Nowshera city is 110 km far, and if
the dam is full to its ends, the height of Nowshera
will be 60 feet above that level.
Rather 800,000 acres barren land will be irrigated
with the raise in the level of the river.
This area is 100-150 feet above river level, when the
level of the river is raised, it would be easily
irrigated.
Waterlogging and salinity could not be a problem as
Pabbi which is the lowers land level, would still
remain at least 55 feet above reservoir water level.
 Concerns of Sindh
• For Sindh, Indus is the only source of water unlike Punjab,
which gets considerable rain in monsoon, Sidh is a parched
land getting less than an average of 5 inches of annyal rain.
• While Punjab has a large reservoir of sweer water under its
soild from which 350,000 tubewells draw as much as 40 MAF
of water every year, the subsoil water of most of Sindh is
saline.
• The inclusion of Tarbela Dam in Indus River system
increased system lossed by 9.3 MAF from 6.9 MAF to 16.2
MAF.
• Kalabagh Dam is constructed, river Indus will have no water
in flow and sea water will enter inside the river bed,
damaging the lands. (Salt water Intrusion)
Kalabagh Dam: Varying Points of View by Abrar Kazi
RESPONCE
Around 1,000,000 acres of land in Sind will be
irrigated from the water reservoir of Kalabagh-
Dam.
The fear of sea water intrusion in the Indus Delta
would be further aggravated by Kalabagh is not
substantiated by factual data.
Studies indicate that presently the total effect of
Indus estuary is only limited to the lower most
portion of Delta and gets dissipated below Garho
and Chowgazo gagues heights at Garho are
completely insensitive to Indus discharges of
upto 700,000 cusees.
• The Installed capacity at present exceeds 20,000 MW. Pakistan has used only about 10% of its estimated 40,000 MW
of economically viable hydropower potential, a proportion much lower than say, India and China (around 30%) and
much lower still than rich countries (around 70%).

• Most Independent analysts believe that the foremost problem with the proposed dam at Kalabagh is one of a trust
deficit between the Punjab on one side and the other three provinces on the other.

• This lack of trust is the fundamental issue in the context of water resources.

• Whether or not the ripe moment has come to resolve the conflict is left up to the best judgment of public leaders.

• The plethora of challenges facing the country warrants that de-escalation is direly needed.

• Despite the best irrigation system the country is compelled to import wheat on credit from abroad and facing severe
electricity problems for the last many years.

• Given that Pakistan has remarkable history of successfully confronting major water challenger, it is hoped that its
enormous human capacity will enable it to confront this challenges as well.
THANKS!