The drainage system of eighteen river basins dominates the Balochistan plateau, where precipitation recharges both consolidated and unconsolidated aquifers. Due to unjustifiable long-term groundwater mining, groundwater levels have been steadily declining in eleven river basins for the last three decades. Water-table declines at a rate of 2 to 3 metres each year. In portions of Quetta Valley, the most substantial decline of 60m in the last 12 years has been reported. In an average year, total groundwater recharge in all river basins is expected to be 2,200 Mm3, whereas removal is anticipated to be 2,657 Mm3. The groundwater overdraft in eleven river basins is 886 Mm3, however only 7 river basins have 429 Mm3 accessible for sustainable development. Many recommendations have been made to improve groundwater recharge, and multiple studies have been conducted by various public and private sector groups for the protection of natural resources. However, implementation of the studies' recommendations has been slow, resulting in serious groundwater shortages. The involved government departments have devised a variety of measures for the protection of natural resources under their authority. A comprehensive provincial policy and subsequent strategy for the protection and sustainable development of natural resources in Balochistan is yet to be formed. In this paper the natural resource protection policies and strategies that are directly or indirectly associated with the surface and groundwater resources have been assessed. In addition, the federal and provincial government’s policies including water, biodiversity, climate change, environment, agriculture, forest, and rangeland management have been reviewed and summarized. In some of the previous strategies, certain measures have been proposed for the sustainability of water resources. A restriction on farm tubewells in urban areas, as well as the installation of storage, supply, and delay action dams, are among the measures (DADs). As a result, 326 DADs with a total storage capacity of 332 Mm3 were built in various river basins. According to the studies, DADs are the best way to recharge aquifers in the current situation if they are accompanied by design changes and catchment-specific watershed management strategies. A comprehensive, integrated watershed management strategy and model are being developed for the province's sustainable management of natural resources.
Author(s) DetailsSyed Mobasher Aftab
Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta, Pakistan.
Rehanul Haq Siddiqui
Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta, Pakistan.
Muhammad A. Farooqui
COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus Defence Road Lahore, Pakistan.
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