Country Paper

Pakistan

Asian Water Development Outlook 2007

 2007 Asian Development Bank

All rights reserved. Published 2007.
The views expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not
necessarily refect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank or
its Board of Governors or the governments they represent.
The Asian Development Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data
included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use.
Use of the term country does not imply any judgment by the authors of
the Asian Development Bank as to the legal or other status of any territorial
entity.

Country Chapter Pakistan1

Geoff Bridges

Executive Summary
Some two billion Asians66% of the Asian
population (or nearly 75% of all those in the
world without such facilities)lack access to
adequate sanitation. Many Asian countries face
huge financial costs to clean up the environment
because of a lack of investment in sanitation,
leading to massive pollution of surface and
groundwater. The cost of cleaning a river already
polluted with industrial waste or sewage is far
higher than the cost of the infrastructure to
dispose of the pollutants properly. Water and
sanitation must get top priority from political
leadership everywhere; postponing action is
not an option because to delay will cost a great
deal more. This key message was conveyed by
the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the
Stockholm World Water Week, 1218 August
2007.2
Sector Framework
The Ministry of Water and Power through its
Department (WAPDA) is responsible for water
resources development and management. Urban
water supplies are the responsibility of public
sector water boards or water and sanitation
agencies (WASAs) controlled by municipality,
local government, or city council. There is no
independent water sector regulator. Public Health
Engineering Departments construct schemes following a top-down approach. The 2001 National

Environment Action Plan safeguards public

health and promotes sustainable livelihoods. The
2005 National Environmental Policy provides
a framework for sustainable development and
addresses water management and conservation,
pollution, and waste management issues.
National Water Strategy and Policies
The National Water Policy vision is for adequate
water availability through proper conservation
and development, with water supplies of good
quality and equitably distributed. The Water
Sector Strategy provides a roadmap for the sector
planning, development and management up to
2025. The National Water Policy prioritizes water
rights, commits to clean potable water to all by
2025, promotes public-private partnerships,
targets full financial sustainability in urban water
supply, and with poorer communities subsidized
through the tariff and charges at affordable
rates. The National Drinking Water Policy and
National Sanitation Policy detail strategies. The
Government has begun an ambitious reform
program.
Water Resources Management
Pakistan has a long history of developing and
managing water resources infrastructure, and has
the largest contiguous irrigation system in the
world. It is, however, nearly at the water scarcity
threshold of 1,000 cubic meters/person/year.
WAPDA manages and develops water resources,


About 36% of
groundwater
resources are
now highly
saline

Asian Water Development Outlook 2007

but lack of planning capacity and strong

management, as well as frequent disagreements
with provincial governments over water allocation have contributed to major water resource
problems. These issues are compounded by
application of excessive irrigation water, causing
increased salinity and waterlogging. About 36%
of groundwater resources are now highly saline.
Untreated effluent discharges from municipalities
and industrial areas make the quality of water
resources increasingly critical. The number of
tubewells has increased significantly, but despite
the unsustainable mining of groundwater,
additional wells continue to be installed to meet
rural, urban and agricultural needs.

Despite the
unsustainable
mining of
groundwater,
additional wells
continue to be
installed

Water Supply
Water supply systems are characterized by low
pressure, intermittent water supply, high levels
of nonrevenue water, and pollution infiltrating
through leaky pipes when the distribution
network is not pressurized. As a result, in 2006
major outbreaks of waterborne epidemics swept
Faisalabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar, due
to waste leaking in through damaged pipes.
Consumers are forced to implement expensive
coping mechanisms, such as on-site storage,
purchasing water from tankers, or use of shallow
wells and rivers. Intermittent supplies are so
common that many private lorry tankers licensed
by water utilities benefit from this lucrative trade.
There is, thus, little incentive for the utility staff
to improve the situation.
Sanitation
Sanitation provision increased from 38% to 54%
between 1990 and 2002. However, most urban
residents rely on septic tanks, with only limited
coverage of municipal piped sewerage systems.
Open field defecation is common, especially
in rural areas, and the almost total absence of

public toilets in urban areas leads to similar

practices in towns and cities. However, there are
excellent examples of grass roots achievements
by slum dweller associations, such as the Orangi
Pilot Project in Karachi, collaborating to bring
sanitation to millions of people. In Karachi,
less than 60% of households have a wastewater
connection, and less than 30% of the collected
wastewater is treated before discharge. The
Karachi Master Plan 2020 sets a target of 90%
collection from households by 2020. Discarded
solid waste frequently blocks sewerage systems
and pollutes local water courses and aquifers.
MDG Target Progress
World Health Organization/United Nations
Childrens Fund (WHO/UNICEF) data for
2004 indicate that overall water supply coverage
achieved was 91% (96% urban and 89% rural),
with overall sanitation coverage 59% (92%
urban and 41%). Urban water, rural water, and
urban sanitation Millennium Development Goal
(MDG) targets have therefore already been met,
with rural sanitation on track by 2015.
Future Plans
Under the Medium Term Development
Framework PRs28.3 billion have been allocated
for public sector environment development
projects during 20052010, four times that
allocated in the previous period. The flagship
program is the Clean Drinking Water for All
(20052008), a PRs10 billion federal program
to install water treatment plants in urban and
rural areas, The Pakistan Water Sector Strategy
envisages a 20032011Medium Term Investment
Plan of US$8 billion. PRs56.2 billion are
allocated for water sector projects in the 200708
Development Program.
Utility Performance
Typical characteristics of urban utility water
supply systems in Pakistan are limited hours of
supply continuity, high levels of nonrevenue
water, and fairly high staffing-connections ratios.
Financially, they are generally unsustainable,
with many not even recovering sufficient revenue
to meet operating and maintenance (O&M)
expenditure, primarily due to low collection
efficiencies, inadequate tariffs and over-staffing.
Successes/Failures and Key Issues.
Pakistan is heavily constrained by water availability, so needs to pursue conservation aggressively,
particularly in irrigation, and to control nonrev-

Country Chapter Pakistan

enue water in water supply systems. Deteriorating

water quality necessitates a dramatic increase in
municipal and industrial wastewater treatment
and modifying agricultural practices. Very low
tariffs, compounded by poor collection and
billing, mean low cost recovery, resulting in
the bad state of repair of most water systems.
Tariff reform is vital to ensure sustainability and
highlight the true value of water and service
provision. The main issues and key challenges are
as follows:
Inadequate coordination between water user
organizations.
No inter-ministerial or inter-provincial body
for water sector planning.
Increase autonomy of water and sanitation
agencies.
Financially unsustainabletariffs should at
least meet O&M costs.
Limited private sector participation or
investmentneed to increase this.
Connect the urban poor (no connection fee
or subsidized fee).
The practice of open defecation must cease.
Irrigation sector inefficientover-use causes
waterlogging and salinity.
Low service levels and coverage.
Deteriorating water qualityraw sewage
must be treated.
Future Vision
Pakistan currently only spends 0.25% of GDP on
water supply and sanitation. It needs to increase
water sector investments to at least 1% of GDP
and also must focus on tariff reform, increased
wastewater treatment capacity, greater water
conservation, and effective implementation of the
National Water Policy.

Introduction
The purpose of the Asian Water and
Development Outlook (AWDO) is to enable
leaders and policy makers to understand their
respective national situations, to appreciate
their present sector performance and the key
issues in their country and, by learning from the
experiences of other countries, to encourage them
to take effective action to tackle those issues.
Achievement of these goals has been constrained
by the limited availability of data and published
current status information, as well as detailed
future plans.

The economic performance of Pakistan continues to improve, with gross domestic product
(GDP) growth of 5.1% in fiscal year (FY)2003,
6.4% in FY2004, and 8.4% if FY2005.3 Growth
in FY2006 was 6.6%, increasing to 7.02% in
FY2007 (to end June). Pakistans real GDP has,
therefore, grown at an average annual rate of
7.0% during the last five years (20032007) and
more than 7.5% in the last four years (2004
2007).4 Inflation is forecast to be contained
at around 8.5%. The Governments poverty
reduction strategy paper (PRSP), completed in
December 2003, is a holistic strategy to address
poverty. Social sector indicators have shown a
substantive improvement at both national and
provincial levels. Under the 17th constitutional
amendment passed in December 2003, the Local
Government Ordinance (LGO) was formally
made part of the Constitution.
Pakistan had a Human Development Index
(HDI) value of 0.539 in 2004 (0.463 in 1990),
and was ranked 134th worldwide in terms of
HDI. 2004 GDP per capita was $2,225 PPP5
and its Human Poverty Index was 36.3%.6
Urbanization is significant and increasing rapidly.
In terms of water resource availability, the per
capita TARWR value reduced from 2,961 m3/
year in 2000 to 1,420 m3/year in 2005, with total
water used being 76% of TARWR.7 However,
more recent published data for 20062007 assesses water availability at just a little over 1,000
m3/year, fractionally over the scarcity threshold.8
Pakistan is therefore already in the water stress
league, the water stress threshold being defined
as renewable water resources below 1,700
m3/person/year, and will shortly be in the water
scarcity league, the water scarcity threshold being
defined as below 1,000 m3/person/year. Of the
169.384 billion m3 of water withdrawn in 2000,
the proportion of withdrawals by agriculture,
industry and domestic users was 96%, 2% and
2%9 respectively.


Asian Water Development Outlook 2007

Sector Status and

Performance Overview
Sector Framework
The Ministry of Water and Power through
its Department (WAPDA) is responsible for
water resources development and management
in Pakistan. Urban water supplies are the
responsibility of public sector water boards or
water and sanitation agencies (WASAs) under
the control of the city council, municipality
or local government. There is no independent
water sector regulator. Public Health Engineering
Departments (PHEDs) construct schemes following a top-down approach to planning, often
producing schemes that are costly and technically
difficult for local communities to maintain.
Environmental legislation was first introduced in 1977 and since then a number of policy
initiatives governing regulatory frameworks and
institutions have been introduced. Following
the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act of
1997, the National Environment Action Plan
was introduced in 2001 to safeguard public
health and promote sustainable livelihoods. More
recently the National Environmental Policy 2005
includes a framework for sustainable development and addresses water management and
conservation, pollution, and waste management
issues.
The Ministry of Health plays an important
role in setting water quality standards and in
monitoring and control of drinking water quality
in urban and rural areas.

National Water Strategy and

Policies
The vision of Pakistans National Water Policy is:
By 2025, Pakistan should have adequate
water available, through proper conservation and
development. Water supplies should be of good
quality, equitably distributed and meet the needs
of all users through an efficient management,
institutional and legal system that would ensure
sustainable utilization of the water resources and
support economic and social development with
due consideration to the environment, quality of
life, economic value of resources, ability to pay
and participation of all stakeholders.
The Water Sector Strategy provides a
roadmap for the planning, development, and
management of the sector up to 2025. Selected
major sectoral issues are:
Institutional and Management: (i) inadequate coordination between all water-user
organizations; (ii) difficulties in reaching
consensus between provinces; (iii) absence of
an inter-ministerial, inter-provincial body to
oversee water sector planning, development
and management; and (iv) insufficient
database and information on water.
Social and Financial: (i) rapid population
growth, changing demographics and high
level of poverty; (ii) low level of involvement
of women in water sector decision making;
(iii) limited availability of funds in the water
sector and high financial requirements to
meet future needs; (iv) inadequate financial
sustainability due to low levels of public
sector funds and insufficient cost recovery;
(v) inadequate public awareness and
understanding of water issues.
Technical: (i) insufficient water resources
to meet the increasing future demands for
water, food and power; (ii) inefficient use
of water in all subsectors, with greatest
potential for improvement in the irrigation
subsector; (iii) deteriorating water quality;
(iv) low coverage and levels of service in
domestic water supply and sanitation; and
(v) waterlogging and salinity due to over-use
of water in irrigation
Key Water Sector Strategy objectives10 are:

Improved environment after providing sanitation facilities

Provision of water for all through water

conservation, additional storage, and
improved water allocations.
Improved institutional and management

Country Chapter Pakistan

capacity through establishing an inter-ministerial and inter-provincial National Water

Council and a supporting water resources
apex body to prepare an Integrated Water
Resources Master Plan. A coordinating and
support body for the domestic water supply
and sanitation subsector will provide support
for strategic planning to all urban areas.
Poverty reduction mainly through the
irrigation, drainage, and water supply and
sanitation subsectors.
Increased involvement of women in water
mainly through the rural water supply and
sanitation subsector.
Increased equity in water distribution for
poverty reduction, improved irrigation
efficiencies, and reduced dependence on
groundwater.
Increased stakeholder participation in
irrigation and drainage and domestic water
supply and sanitation subsectors.
Improved public awareness and understanding and information to provide the
foundation for increased stakeholder
participation.
Enactment of the National Water Policy.
Improved cooperation and conflict resolution in the water sector.
Improved financial efficiency by targeting
investments to the objectives of the strategy
and achieving financial sustainability in water
services and involving the private sector.
Improved water quality.
The water supply and sanitation components
of the National Water Policy are:
Prioritized water rights: drinking water,
industrial, then agriculture.
Clean potable water to all through appropriate and affordable delivery systems by 2025.
Promote investment through private sector
participation in urban water supply.
Target full financial sustainability in urban
water supply, with poorer communities
subsidized through the tariff.
Charge for rural water and sanitation at
affordable rates.
Provide hygienic sanitation to 80% of the
urban and 50% of the rural population by
2025.
Promote effective rehabilitation and
efficiency improvements in existing water
supply systems (reduced nonrevenue water,
increased metering, etc.).

Preserve and protect surface water and

groundwater resources.
Encourage and support rainwater harvesting
to augment municipal water supply.
The Government has also instituted a
National Drinking Water Policy and a National
Sanitation Policy. The National Drinking Water
Policy recognizes access to safe drinking water
as a basic human right of every citizen, placing
responsibility on the state to ensure its provision,
and with drinking water taking precedence over
all other water uses. Specific targets are:
Provide safe drinking water to 93% of the
population by 2015.
Provision to be based on 20 liters per person
per day (lpcd) in rural areas and 40 lpcd in
urban areas.
Provide at least one hand pump or spot
source for every 250 persons.
Establish district and tehsil level water
filtration plants by 2007.
Establish water filtration plants in all urban
areas by 2015.
Establish a system of monitoring and testing
water quality.
A Safe Drinking Water Act will be enacted
to cover technical and supply standards, and
legislation approved to ensure compliance with
the Pakistan Drinking Water Quality Standards.
As well as the legislative strategy, the policy also
includes a targeting strategy, a strategy to protect
water sources, an institutional strategy, technical and operating and maintenance (O&M)
strategies, as well as a strategy for Drinking Water
Quality standards, their monitoring, and surveillance. Gender, communication, and financing
strategies are also outlined.11

New latrines for a village school

Asian Water Development Outlook 2007

Pakistan has
the largest contiguous irrigation
system in the
world

The National Sanitation Policy provides

a broad framework and policy guidelines to
support sanitation coverage through the development of strategies, plans, and programs. The
primary focus is on the safe disposal of excreta
using sanitary latrines and includes creation of
an open-defecation-free environment, together
with safe disposal of solid and liquid wastes. The
Policy promotes community-led total sanitation (CLTS) in smaller communities and the
component sharing model in larger communities.
The Policy commits to meet the sanitation
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
by 2015 and for 100% of the population to
be served by improved sanitation by 2025. It
proposes rewards for all open-defecation-free
towns and tehsils, and for achieving 100%
sanitation coverage for towns and tehsils. Some
0.1% of GDP was spent on water and sanitation
between 2002/3 and 2004/5, with most spent on
water supply.12
The current Government has begun an
ambitious program of governance, administrative,
and economic reforms that have the potential
to bring major benefits to the water sector.
Motivated by the need for energy and water
storage as economic growth rises above 8%, the
Government is committed to building five new
mega dams. Provincial governments have also
shown strong commitment to reforms and are
undertaking major water sector investments.13

Pre-project village sanitation conditions

Water Resources Management

The Ministry of Water and Power through its
Department (WAPDA) manages and develops
water resources. However, lack of sector planning
capacity and strong management, as well as frequent disagreements among the federal and four
provincial governments over the allocation of
water resources and the best way to proceed have
contributed to major water resource problems.
These issues are compounded by the inefficient
use of water, especially in the irrigation subsector,
where application of excessive irrigation water
has led to increased salinity, water-logging,
and development of sodic soils. Some 36% of
groundwater resources are now classified as highly
saline.14 Drainage discharges into watercourses
are increasingly saline and, combined with
untreated effluent discharges from municipalities
and industrial areas, the quality of water resources
especially near populated areas is becoming
critical.
Pakistan has a long history of developing
and managing water resources infrastructure,
and has the largest contiguous irrigation
system in the world. Irrigated land provides
about 80% of agricultural output, contributes
25% of GDP, employs over 50% of the rural
labor force, and provides 6070% of exports.
The Indus River canal system not only supplies
agricultural water but is also a primary source
of rural, municipal, and industrial water
supply. About 95% of water resources are
used for agricultural purposes. However,
although there is consensus about the critical
need for increasing water investments, actions
are hindered by lack of capacity for sector
planning and strong management, as well as
frequent disagreements among the federal and
four provincial governments over the allocation
of water resources and the best way to proceed.
The Government of Pakistan has produced
its Vision 2025 document which projects an
additional 3.75 MAF (million acre-feet) of
storage for irrigation through the construction of
5 new dams. The inefficiency of the present flood
irrigation system, however, is recognized and is
being addressed by the Government, together
with the progressive resolution of water resource
pollution issues. Water security should be based
on entitlements and not on scarcity. However,
some sections of society are excluded from their
entitlement to water resources, for example the
rural poor are increasingly being denied their

Country Chapter Pakistan

entitlement to irrigation water. The allocation

of water resources is an increasing problem as
the water scarcity threshold is approached in
Pakistan. The riparian rights of all living within a
river basin need to be recognized, including those
living in urban areas.
Clearly, water resources are vital to Pakistans
economic well-being, and their improved management is vital to poverty reduction. However,
the irrigation system urgently needs rehabilitation
and stronger institutional arrangements; the rate
of groundwater resource depletion is unsustainable; the coverage, quality, and reliability of urban
water supply are grossly inadequate, especially
in light of the burgeoning urban population;
and urban wastewater treatment is virtually
nonexistent (only 1% treated15) with the drainage
network collecting agricultural wastes along
with mostly untreated municipal and industrial
effluent and discharging it into the rivers. Salinity
in rivers is an increasing problem.
Following the introduction of the national
electricity grid in the 1970s, the number of
tubewells has increased significantly, the annual
growth rate of electric tubewells being 6.7%
and for diesel tubewells around 7.4%.16 Despite
the resulting lowering of the water table and the
unsustainable mining of groundwater, additional
tubewells continue to be installed to meet rural,
urban, and agricultural requirements.

Water Supply
Water supply systems are characterized by limited
hours of supply, low pressure, intermittent water
supply, high levels of nonrevenue (60% reported
in Islamabad17), and pollution of the treated water
through contaminated groundwater infiltrating
through leaky pipes whenever the distribution
network is not pressurized. In the first half of
2006, major outbreaks of waterborne disease
epidemics swept Faisalabad, Karachi, Lahore and
Peshawar as a result of sewage and industrial waste
leaking into drinking water through damaged
pipes, necessitating a major emergency public
investment program to finance more than 6,000
filtration plants. In Karachi (where half the 10
million population live in informal slum areas)
and Lahore (population 5 million), 40% of the
water supply is unfiltered and 60% of effluents
are untreated. In Lahore there is no sewage
treatment and only 3 out of 100 industries
chemically treat their wastewater. In Karachi, the

sewerage system is in disrepair and there are no

sewage treatment facilities, with even the two
largest industrial estates in the country having no
effluent treatment plants.18 The Karachi Water
and Sewerage Board (KWSB), created under the
Karachi Water and Sewerage Board Act, 1996,
currently provides poor levels of service in terms
of coverage, supply, distribution, quality of water,
wastewater services, and storm water management services.19
Consumers are forced to implement
coping mechanisms, such as on-site storage
(ground tank, pump and roof tank), purchase
of water from lorry tankers, or using shallow
wells and rivers. Intermittent supplies are such
a common feature that many privately-operated lorry tankers licensed by water utilities
benefit from this lucrative trade. There is,
thus, little incentive for the utility staff to improve the situation because this supplementary
income would be lost. Likewise, some consumers in better supplied areas benefit from the
situation as consumer water meters are not
installed or do not function effectively when
supply is intermittent, so water bills are usually
based on the land area and nature of usage
(domestic, commercial, etc.) of the property.
This provides no incentive to conserve water as
it is a fixed rate charge, and in most cases consumers do not receive sufficient water through
the piped networks so they try to pump water
directly from the distribution main, further
exacerbating the poor service level. The cost of
coping mechanisms is several times more than
the cost of water from an efficiently run water
distribution system. As usual, it is the poor,
especially women and children, who suffer the
most from such public utility shortcomings as
they have limited alternative sources.

In 2006 major
outbreaks of
waterborne
epidemics swept
Faisalabad,
Karachi, Lahore,
and Peshawar

Asian Water Development Outlook 2007

Sanitation

Sanitation provision increased

from 38% to
54% between
1990 and 2002

Sanitation provision increased from 38% to

54%, an increase of 42%,20 between 1990 and
2002. However, the Annual Plan 200708 of
the Planning Commission states that about
50% of the population does not have adequate
sanitation.21 Most urban residents rely on septic
tanks, with only limited coverage of municipal
piped sewerage systems. Open field defecation is
common, especially in rural areas, and the almost
total absence of public toilets in urban areas leads
to similar practices in towns and cities. Where
public toilets are available they are often filthy
and poorly maintained. Only 0.1% of GDP was
spent on sanitation in FY 2004/5.22
However, there have been excellent examples
in Pakistan (and India) of grass-roots achievements
by slum dweller associations collaborating to bring
sanitation to millions of people using the power
of communities to mobilize resources. The Orangi
Pilot Project in Karachi was started in 1980 by
a nongovernment organization (NGO) working
with local communities in katchi abadis (low
income informal settlements, and home to more
than 1 million people). Lane residents formed
groups to construct sewer channels to collect waste
from their homes, and these were then connected
to neighborhood channels, which ultimately
discharged into the municipal trunk sewer. Infant
mortality rates fell from 130 to 40 per 1,000 live
births, with almost 100,000 families in some
6,000 lanes (90% of the population) involved.23
In Karachi, poor wastewater services and
low rates of sewerage collection and treatment
threaten public health. Less than 60% of households have a wastewater connection, and less
than 30% of the collected wastewater is treated

Sewage disposal channels and oxidation pond

under construction

10

before it is discharged. Little work has been

done on the sewerage system since 1965, and
there is a general recognition that the sewerage
system is in even greater disrepair than the water
system. Some system rehabilitation and extension of the existing network is currently being
undertaken as part of the PRs1.5 billion (US$25
million) Tameer-e-Karchi program, although
this work is not being carried out according to a
comprehensive rehabilitation plan or master plan.
Approximately 435 million cubic meters (m3)
of wastewater are produced annually in Karachi,
corresponding to about 70% of water provided
to households and industry. Of this, only 20%
(96 million m3) are treated, indicating that 340
million m3 of wastewater is discharged untreated
directly into the Arabian Sea annually.24
A report by the World Wildlife Fund,
published in February 2007, states that water
samples from the Karachi harbor showed trace
metals in concentrations far exceeding any other
major harbor in the world.25 Much of the collection system is overloaded, silted, and eroded or
collapsed, and the sewage treatment plants are
both under-loaded and malfunctioning. As a result
of the inadequate and poorly maintained sewerage
and sewage treatment systems, the pollution load
on Karachis two rivers and coastal ecosystem is
immense. It is estimated that the Layari and Malir
rivers discharge biological oxygen demand (BOD5)
loads of 1,000 and 500 tons/day, respectively, in
addition to inorganic pollutants. The wastewater
generated by the more than 40% of the population
that does not have a wastewater connection is
disposed of in local areas, generally to the storm
water drainage system and then directly to open
drains. This creates significant localized sanitation
and pollution problems, especially in times of
heavy rain. All of this creates severe environmental
pollution and threatens public health. 26
The Karachi Master Plan 2020 sets a target
of 90% collection from households by 2020.
However, this is not based on a piped wastewater
connection for every household, but does require
that waste is collected in a timely manner that
does not endanger public health. Similarly, a
100% rate of effective wastewater treatment and
disposal should be achieved by 2020. The master
plan also recommends that katchi abadis located
near main and trunk sewers be connected to the
wastewater system, with those that are not to be
served by some form of communal sanitation,
possibly septic tanks. 27
The Second South Asian Conference on

Country Chapter Pakistan

Sanitation (SACOSAN-2), held in Islamabad

from 20 to 21 September 2006, was organized
by the Ministry of Environment. The conference
focused on activities currently being undertaken
in the sanitation sector by key international
funding institutions and the status of the sector.
Key sectoral constraints highlighted were:
Sanitation and hygiene offer little hope of
short term cost recovery.
Much of the investment needed by the poor
is small-scale and at household level.
The traditional dominance of water supply
over sanitation in the sector needs correcting.
There is limited client institutional capacity
to program and manage large-scale sanitation
and hygiene projects.
One of the recommendations made was
for improved monitoring, evaluation, and
accountability in sanitation and hygiene projects
to achieve a greater focus on the unserved and a
clearer understanding of costs.
Solid waste is also frequently discarded into
the open drains or nullahs in urban areas, blocking
sewerage systems and polluting local water courses
and aquifers. Solid waste disposal must be considered whenever storm water drainage and sewerage
projects are being planned and designed. Water
pollution has become the major environmental
problem in Pakistan, with less than 1% of municipal
and industrial wastewater treated before disposal.28

MDG Target Progress

World Health Organization/United Nations
Childrens Fund (WHO/UNICEF) data for
2004 indicate that overall water supply coverage
achieved was 91% (96% urban and 89% rural),
with overall sanitation coverage 59% (92% urban
and 41%).29 Of the 96% urban water supply
coverage, 49% was through house connections
(decreasing from 60% in 1990), the equivalent
figure for rural water supply being 15%. Coverage
by public standpipes was 16.5% urban and
24.6% rural (2003 data). For the 92% urban
sanitation coverage, 40% was due to sewerage
connections, the equivalent figure for rural
sanitation being 6%.30 Urban water, rural water,
and urban sanitation Millennium Development
Goal (MDG) targets have, therefore, already been
reached, with rural sanitation on-track to meet its
target by 2015.31 However, coverage by itself as a
monitoring indicator without an assurance that

existing facilities continue to give appropriate service, in particular the quality of water delivered at
the customers premises or the need to effectively
treat sewage, becomes less meaningful. Coverage
figures are, therefore, likely to over-estimate the
true provision of acceptable improved facilities
for both water and sanitation.

Future Plans
Per capita water availability in Pakistan is
decreasing at an alarming rate following 5 years
of drought, and in 2005 was just above the
scarcity level and with an increasing surface water
pollution problem. Under the Medium Term
Development Framework (MTDF) PRs28.3
billion has been allocated for public sector
environment development projects to be implemented in 20052010, more than four times the
sum allocated in the previous 5-year period. The
flagship program is Clean Drinking Water for All
(20052008), a PRs10 billion federal program to
install water treatment plants in urban and rural
areas, the 200607 budget being PRs4 billion plus
a further PRs45 million on the Clean Drinking
Water Initiative.32 The MTDF also proposes a
National Drinking Water and Sanitation Policy to
meet the potable drinking water requirements of
the whole population, and maximize coverage of
sanitation services. The policy promotes community participation and equitable distribution of
water and sanitation services. In addition to the
potable water program, MTDF allocates PRs120
billion for water and sanitation schemes, of which
50% is in the private sector.33 Projected sectoral
expenditure for 2006/7 is PRs8.61 billion,

Oxidation pond for treatment and disposal of sewage. Treated effluent being pumped into disposal
channel

11

Asian Water Development Outlook 2007

compared with an actual investment of PRs6.53

billion in 2004/5,34 with projected water resources
expenditure for 2006/7 of PRs54.976 billion, a
28% increase over expected 2005/6 expenditure.35
PRs56.2 billion have been allocated for water
sector projects in the Public Sector Development
Program for 2007/08.
The Pakistan Water Sector Strategy envisages
a Medium Term Investment Plan amounting to
US$8 billion from 20032011.

Governance
Governance can be considered in several ways,
ranging from the transparency of government
and business dealings, the efficiency of the
business process (delays in project implementation), to the implementation of regulations and
sector performance, e.g., nonrevenue water. Such
assessments are necessarily subjective and so to
provide an overall indication, the corruption perceptions index (CPI) produced by Transparency

International will be used as a proxy indicator.

In 2006, the CPI score for Pakistan was 2.2,
making it 142nd in the overall ranking and 22nd
in the regional ranking.36 Although Pakistan
made tangible efforts toward strengthening
public procurement, the perception of corruption
remains high. Only Australia, Peoples Republic
of China, Indonesia, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka in
Asia and the Pacific region had ratified the UN
Convention against Corruption, suggesting a lack
of government determination in the region to
tackle corruption.

Utility Performance
Typical characteristics of urban utility water
supply systems in Pakistan are limited hours of
supply continuity, high levels of nonrevenue
water, and fairly high staffing-connections ratios.
Financially, they are generally unsustainable, with
many not even recovering sufficient revenue to
meet O&M expenditure, primarily due to low

Table 1: Utility Performance

Indicator

Rawalpindi

Karachi

Lahore

Public/private sector

Public

Public

Public

Main water source

surface

surface

Population in area of responsibility

1,500,000

15,000,000

5,500,000

Water (%)

85

8238

88

Sewerage (%)

35

60

8440

No. of connections

84,000

1,600,000

522,000

No. of public taps

n/a

n/a

n/a

1 to 10

16 to 23

Coverage:
39

Supply Continuity (hours of supply)

11 to 15

Volume produced (m /day)

2,859,434

Per capita consumption (liters/day)

152

79

Overall nonrevenue water (%)

30

30

42

Staffing ratio/thousand connections

12.7

5.6

9.5

Revenue collected (US$ million/month)

0.4277

3.0158

3.5642

Collection efficiency (%)

64

25

77

O&M expenditure (US$ million/month)

n/a

6.1688

3.5915

Connection fee (US$)

Typical domestic tariff based on 20 m /month (excludes any fixed charge)

n/a

$2.63

$4.93

Annual capex (US$ million)

n/a

0.1645

32.90

Independent sector regulator?

No

No

No

41

Note: Exchange rate used: US$1 = PRs60.79 as at 1 May 2007.

12

Country Chapter Pakistan

collection efficiencies, inadequate tariffs and overstaffing. KWSB has been technically insolvent for
several years.

Table 1 summarizes recent utility

performance data.37

Main utility concerns collected during the

SAWUN data collection process range from
reform of the utility to improve service delivery
and reduce nonrevenue water in Karachi, to
wastewater management, improved water quality,
environmental auditing, and database upgrading
in Rawalpindi. In Lahore, the main issues are
water metering, nonrevenue water control,
financial modeling, and outsourcing functions
such as water meter installation, billing and
collection.
Selected national indicators are summarized
below:
Water availability (per
capita)

1,420 m3/year

Water quality

poor (36% ground

water highly
saline)

Improved water supply

coverage

91%

Improved sanitation
coverage

59%

Wastewater treatment

1%

Governance Transparency
Index (CPI)

2.2

Successes/Failures, Issues,
and Future Action Plan
The main issues and key challenges are as follows
(key messages raised in the main AWDO text are
highlighted in bold):
Institutional and Management
Inadequate coordination between water
user organizations.
Difficulty of reaching consensus between
provinces.
No inter-ministerial or inter-provincial body
for water sector planning, development and
managementproposed a water resources
apex body to implement the Water Sector
Strategy as well as policies developed by a
proposed National Water Council.
Insufficient water data and information.
Need for increased autonomy of water
and sanitation agencies.

Social and Financial

Rapid population growth and changing
demographics.
High level of poverty.
Low level of involvement of women in
water sector decision making, especially
potable water supply.
Inequity of water distribution within
irrigation systems.
Limited availability of funding.
Financial unsustainability due to
insufficient cost recovery and low level
of public sector fundstariffs should at
least meet O&M costs.
Limited private sector participation or
investment need to increase this, for
example outsourcing of O&M, billing
and revenue collection.
Need to connect the urban poor (no
connection fee or subsidized fee).
The practice of open defecation must
cease.
Limited stakeholder participation in
decision making in all subsectors.
Inadequate public awareness and understanding of water issues.
Technical
Increasing demand for water and power.
Insufficient water resources to meet future
demands.
Inefficient use of water in irrigation sector,
with overuse causing waterlogging and
salinity.
Low service levels and coverage (the goal
should be to achieve low nonrevenue
water, 24-hour supply, etc.).
Deteriorating water qualityraw
sewage must be treated.
Pakistan is heavily constrained by water
availability with the situation deteriorating
annually. The country needs to pursue conservation aggressively, particularly in the irrigation
sector, which is characterized by low productivity
relative to other countries, and to improve
efficiencies in all subsectors, for example controlling nonrevenue water in water supply systems.
Deteriorating water quality is a further major
concern, necessitating the dramatic increase
in the treatment of municipal and industrial
wastewater as well as modifying agricultural
practices. Very low tariffs, compounded by poor
collection and billing practices, mean low cost
recovery and the resulting bad state of repair of
most water and sanitation systems. Tariff reform
13

Asian Water Development Outlook 2007

Box 1: Using the Pen to Right Water Concerns

Irfan Shahzad, a researcher with the Islamabad based think-tank
Institute of Policy Studies, is trying to raise awareness of water issues
through written words in the media. Since 2001 when reporting on
the plight of those affected by an outbreak of waterborne disease in
Rawalpindi and Islamabad, he has been writing on water issues and
their impacts, covering controversies over water distribution, bottled
water, dams, etc. However, the media in Pakistan remains silent
on many water issues and needs to make people aware that water
challenges and their solutions start with each individual.
Assessing the impact of media coverage is not easy, but there
are shifts in behavior and opinions that can be attributed to what is
presented by the media. Journalists and media organizations need
to rise above job requirements and commercial interests to present
water issues as they really are, not as they want to portray them. Due
importance needs to be given to all water issues, not just focusing on
the current topical issue. For instance, in Pakistan the debate on dam
projects has a very high profile, but although important it should not
be at the expense of sidelining all other issues. Journalists must become
involved in marginalized sectors of the debate on water issues because
they are in a strong position to provide people with accurate and
appropriate information to effect real change.
Source: Irfan Shahzad, Researcher/Assistant Editor, Policy Perspectives, Institute of
Policy Studies, Islamabad

is vital not only to ensure sustainability but also

to highlight the true value of water and service
provision. Private sector involvement is very
low and exists in a weak enabling environment.
Rural water supply is now a high priority due to
the overwhelming poverty dimension and low
historical investment.42
There is a real need to identify suitable
champions to promote sustainability in the
sector. Ideally these would be in a position of responsibility in the utility and be widely accepted
in society, possibly the district mayor or Nazim.
The champion should then ensure that a master
plan is prepared and effectively implemented to
resolve the key issues based on a zonal approach
for water supply systems.
A water champion for righting water
concerns is highlighted in Box 1 below.
Health authorities in most countries in
Asia and the Pacific region do not have direct
responsibility for developing water supply and
sanitation systems, focusing primarily on hygiene
promotion and water quality surveillance,
although the benefits of such development accrue
14

to the health sector in terms of health gains. To

optimize such gains, health authorities can play
a key role in relation to water, sanitation and
hygiene, including (i) establishment of sciencebased evidence, (ii) advocacy to non-health
sectors, (iii) normative guidance role to legislative
and policy planners, (iv) hygiene promotion, (v)
monitoring and surveillance, and (vi) emergencies and natural disasters. Consideration should
be given to health authorities taking a more active
role in sector development and management to
maximize such benefits.

Key Sector Players

Ministry of Water and Power
A Block, Pak Sectt.
Islamabad.
T: 92-51-9212442
F: 92-51-9224825 E:
fminister@mowp.gov.pk
W: http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/ministries/
index
Ministry of Health
Minister for Health: Mr.Muhammad Nasir
Khan
Block C Pak-Secretariat Islamabad
T: 9213933 F: 9203944
Email: minister@health.gov.pk
Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB)
MDs Secretariat Block-D
Shahra-e-Faisal
Near Awami Markaz
Karsaz
Karachi
T: 92 21 924 5152 F: 92 21 924 5131
E: mdkwsb@yahoo.co.uk
Rawalpindi Water & Sanitation Agency
(WASA)
Liaquat Bagh Murree Road
Rawalpindi
T: 92 51 553 9073 F: 92 51 553 9490
E: islamhaq3@yahoo.com
Lahore Water and Sanitation Agency
(WASA)43
Managing Director
4-A Gulberg-V
Jail Road
Lahore
T: 92 42 575 2483 F:
W: http://www.lda.gop.pk/lda_wasa.html
Or
Project Management Unit, WASA,
Lahore Development Authority

Country Chapter Pakistan

Kharak, H Block
Sabzazar
Lahore
T: 92-42-7444545, 92-42-7849930
F: 92-42-7444415
E:info@pmuwasa.com or pmuwasa@yahoo.
com
W: http://www.pmuwasa.com/contacts.htm
WASA Faisalabad Development Authority
c/o Faisalabad Development Authority
(FDA)
FDA Complex
The Mall
Faisalabad
T: 9200452-60
WASA Gujranwala
T: 9200452-60
WASA Multan Development Authority
Ch Muhammad Manzoor, Managing
Director
T: 9200572, 9200159 F: 9200162

Punjab Irrigation and Power Department

Mr. Arif Nadeem, Secretary
Irrigation Secretariat
Old Anarkali
Lahore
T: (92-42) 921-2117, (92-42) 921-2118 F:
(92-42) 921-2116, (92-42) 921-2101
E: secretarypn.irrigation@yahoo.com
Punjab Irrigation and Power Department
Mr. Mohammed Akhtar, Acting Director
Punjab Barrage Rehabilitation Project
Management Office
Lahore
T: (92-42) 921-1920 E-mail: iri_lhr@
yahoo.com
Balochistan Irrigation and Power
Department
Mr. Mumtaz Ali Khan, Chief Engineer
(North)
Quetta
T: (92-81) 921-1600 F: (92-81) 921-1601

Table 2: Donors Active in Pakistans Water Sector

Donor

Sector/Area of Support

Sample ADB Projects

Status

Asian Development Bank

(ADB)

Urban, Rural and Basin Water

Development and Management

Balochistan Resource
Management Project (Water
Resources Management
Component)

Grant proposed in 2006.

Community Water Storage and

Technical assistance (TA)
Irrigated Agriculture Development approved in 2006. Loan
Project
proposed.
Chasma Right Bank Irrigation III
Project

Loan closing date revised to

2009.

World Bank

Irrigation, water resource

management

Active/ongoing irrigation,
water supply and sewerage/
sanitation projects.

Japan Bank for International

Cooperation

Flood management

Japan International
Cooperation Agency

Water resources, irrigation,

water supply

Australian Agency for

International Development

Research and institutional

linkages to boost Pakistans
agricultural productivity.

Reconstruction efforts including rebuilding of education

and health facilities.
United Nations Development
Programme

Environment

15

Asian Water Development Outlook 2007

Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority

Manzoor A. Sheikh, Managing Director
13 Ch Khaligu Zaman Rd.
Clfton
Karachi
T: (92-21) 920-0647 F: (92-21) 925-1255,
E: sida@hyd.breeze.net
Donors active in the sector are summarized
in Table 2, which also provides an indication of
the current status of key projects funded by the
Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Future Vision
Progress toward achieving the MDG targets in
Asia and the Pacific region has been less rapid
than anticipated such that, at current rates of
progress, the sanitation MDGs will not be met
in many Asian countries. As a result, the Vision
2020 document on Delivery of the MDGs
for water and sanitation in the Asia-Pacific
Region was prepared to point the way forward,
and was unanimously endorsedby Ministers
from 38 countries at the Asia Pacific Ministerial
Conference in December 2006 held in New
Delhi. The overarching framework is principled
governance, together with a move from policy
as intention to policy as practice. To achieve the
objectives, partnerships will be essential. The
2020 vision can be achieved by:
a concerted campaign over the next five years
to raise awareness and generate momentum
to change polices and governance practices
and build sector capacity,
multistakeholder approach in each country
to achieve synergies and a united effort, and
active sharing of information and experience
across the region as part of a region wide
initiative.
The key areas for focus in Pakistan are:
Improve environmental conditions through
increased collection and effective treatment
of municipal and industrial effluent and
waste.
Reform tariffs to ensure sustainability of
water supply and sanitation services.
Table 3: Index of Drinking Water Adequacy (IDWA)
Resource

Access

Capacity

Use

Quality

IDWA

49

88

36

21

39

16

Reduce connection fees to enable the poor to

be connected to water supplies.
Ensure sustainability of water resources
through integrated water resource management and appropriate levels of service
through sustainable tariffs.
Encourage water conservation through
improved efficiency (low nonrevenue water,
etc.), and by installing water meters and
implementing awareness campaigns.
Increased public education and appreciation
of the true value of water.
The cost of achieving the water sector
MDGs has been estimated at $10 billion/year, a
seemingly large sum but one that only equates to
5 days worth of global military spending and less
than half of what rich countries spend on mineral
water. In Pakistan, military spending is 47 times
the expenditure in the water sector.44 It is a small
price to pay for improved quality of life, millions
of young lives saved, increased productivity, and
generating an economic return to boost prosperity. Governments should aim for a minimum of
1% GDP spending on the water sector.
Pakistan currently only spends 0.25% GDP
on water supply and sanitation.45 It needs to
increase water sector investments to at least 1%
of GDP and also must focus on tariff reform,
increased wastewater treatment capacity, greater
water conservation, and effective implementation
of the National Water Policy.
The Index of Drinking Water Adequacy
(IDWA) value for Pakistan (see Table 3) is 39,
ranking it 17th and in the third quartile of the 23
countries evaluated in the IDWA background
paper for AWDO.46 The component value for
access (88) is good, the resource (49) value
fair, but capacity (36) and quality (21) values
are poor, with the use (0) value being very poor
and offering room for improvement to raise the
overall IDWA value.
Increasing the domestic per capita consumption IDWA use component value could be
achieved through increasing the number of
people connected to piped networks, but this
raises the question of water availability and
system capacity (in Karachi and several other
major cities, water demand already exceeds
production capacity by a considerable margin).
The progressive provision of more connections,
with connection fees made affordably small or
free and the excess funded through the tariff,
together with the development of a sustainable
tariff structure and unit charges, would have

Country Chapter Pakistan

a major impact on the use value, provided

there was adequate provision through the tariff
or from government financing to reinforce and
expand the networkas well as controlling the
high levels of nonrevenue water prevalent in
many systemsto increase water availability to
meet the increased demand. Increasing the use
component value to 40, say, and the quality
value to a similar level by increased sewerage and
wastewater treatment coverage, would increase
the IDWA value for Pakistan to about 50.
This AWDO country chapter is a dynamic
document that should be updated and expanded
periodically to reflect changes, issues, and
proposed remedial strategies in the national
water sector. It is recommended that in the next
update there should be a specific focus on (i)
water resources, conservation and environmental
management, (ii) wastewater treatment, (iii)
improved operational management (especially
reduced nonrevenue water), and (iv) tariff reform.
Endnotes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

The contribution of Raza M. Farrukh of the ADB

Resident Mission Pakistan who reviewed the draft document is gratefully acknowledged.
Asia Faces Huge Environmental Clean-Up Due to
Inadequate Sanitation, ADB News Release, 7 August
2007.
From CSP Update 2006 2008, ADB website, August
2005.
Pakistan Economic Survey 2006-07, p. i, Finance Division, Government of Pakistan.
Purchasing Power Parity
Tables 1 to 3, Human Development Report 2006, UNDP.
Total Actual Renewable Water Resources (TARWR) from
Table 4.3, Water a Shared Responsibility: UN World
Water Development Report No. 2, 2006. UNICEF
Pakistan Economic Survey of 2006-2007, p. 248,
Earth Trends Data Tables: Freshwater Resources 2005,
FAO/AQUASTAT 2005. Available at www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/agricult/agl/aglw/aquastat/water_res/index.htm
Executive Summary, Pakistan Water Sector Strategy,
Vol. 1 p. 10, Ministry of Water and Power, October
2002.
National Drinking Water Policy, Ministry of Environment, Pakistan.
National Sanitation Policy, Ministry of Environment,
Pakistan, September 2006.
ADB Review, November December 2006.
Pakistan Water Situational Analysis, document downloaded from Pakistan Water Gateway www.waterinfo.
net.pk/
Executive Summary, Pakistan Water Sector Strategy,
Vol. 1, p. 13, Ministry of Water and Power, October
2002.
RRP: PAK 37135. Proposed Loan for Balochistan Resource Management Program, ADB, November 2004.
ADB Country Water Actions: Pakistan. Islamabad Citizens
Demand Better Pipe Maintenance, November 2006.
Human Development Report 2006, p. 40, UNDP
Draft Karachi Water Sector Roadmap, P. p. 4, ADB,
May 2007.

20
21
22
23
24

25
26
27
28
29

30

31
32

33
34
35

36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43

44
45
46

Meeting the MDG Drinking Water and Sanitation

Target a Mid-Term Assessment of Progress, WHO/
UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme Report 2004.
Annual Plan 2007-08, p. 233, Planning Commission,
Government of Pakistan.
Public Toilets a Rarity, Asia Water Wire.
Box 3.3, p. 121, Human Development Report 2006.
UNDP.
Consultants estimate based on information provided
in draft Progress Report No. 2 of Study on Water Supply
and Sewerage System in Karachi, JICA, February 2007,
and PC1 Proforma for Greater Karachi Sewerage Plan III,
KW&SB, 2006.
World Wildlife Fund (2007) Pakistans Waters at Risk:
Water & Health Related Issues in Pakistan & Key Recommendations.
Draft Karachi Water Sector Roadmap, p. 10, ADB, May
2007.
Draft Karachi Water Sector Roadmap, p. 4, ADB, May
2007.
Vol. 1 Executive Summary, Pakistan Water Sector Strategy, p. 7, Ministry of Water and Power, October 2002.
Country, regional and global tables in Meeting the
MDG Drinking Water and Sanitation Target the
Urban and Rural Challenge of the Decade, WHO/
UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme Report 2006.
Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply &
Sanitation; Coverage Estimates: Improved Sanitation
Pakistan and Improved Drinking Water - Pakistan,
WHO/UNICEF, June 2006.
Table 2 in The Millennium Development Goals:
Progress in Asia and the Pacific 2006, UNDP.
Public Sector Development Programmes 2006-07, Environment Division Budget, Ministry of Planning and
Development website: www.pakistan.gov.pk/ministries/
planninganddevelopment-ministry
Pakistan Millennium Development Goals Report 2005,
Planning Commission, Islamabad, September 2005.
Annex 5.1 of Part II Chapter 5, Annual Plan 2006-07,
Ministry of Planning and Development website.
Clause 6.57, Part III Water Resources Development,
Annual Plan 2006-07, Ministry of Planning and Development website: www.pakistan.gov.pk/ministries/planninganddevelopment-ministry
Corruption Index CPI 2006 Regional Results: Asia
Pacific. Transparency International, 2006.
All data in this table and details of the main utility concerns abstracted from unaudited data being collected from
utilities to populate the SAWUN Benchmarking Database.
Draft Karachi Water Sector Roadmap, p. 7, ADB, May
2007.
Sewerage coverage and per capita consumption figures
abstracted from IBNET database for 2006.
Sewerage coverage, per capita consumption and NRW
figures abstracted from IBNET database for 2006.
629 MGD, p. 3, Draft Karachi Water Sector Roadmap,
ADB, May 2007.
Water sector roadmap, Pakistan. ADB 2003
WASA was created as a subsidiary agency of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) for the planning, design,
development, and maintenance of the water supply,
sewerage and drainage systems in Lahore. LDA contact
details are: Hassan Nawaz Tarar, Director General,
LDA, 9th Floor, LDA Plaza, Egerton Road, Lahore,
Pakistan
T: (92) (042) 9201501-02, E (LDA webmaster):
ddedp1@lda.gop.k, W: www.lda.gop.pk/
Human Development Report 2006, UNDP, p. 8.
Section 10.3, Pakistan Medium Term Development
Framework Water & Sanitation, 2004.
Access to Drinking Water and Sanitation in Asia:
Indicators and Implications, by Prof Bhanoji Rao,
Background Paper for AWDO, July 2007.

17

Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) 2007

AWDO is a new publication commissioned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in view of
the increasing importance of water in the future development scenarios of the Asia and Pacific
region. In recent years, water has steadily gravitated toward the top of the national agendas
of ADBs developing member countries. This is a desirable development because water is
an essential requirement for human and ecosystems survival. In addition, water is a critical
component for most development needs. Without adequate quantity and quality of water, it
will not be possible to ensure food, energy, or environmental security of nations.
AWDO is aimed at Asian and Pacific leaders and policy makers and those interested
in understanding the complexities and dimensions of the current and the future water
problems, and how these can be addressed successfully in policy terms. Its main objective is
to raise awareness of water-related issues and to stimulate an informed debate on how best
to manage Asias water future. These are important and complex issues, and their timely
management can contribute to the achievement of all the water-associated Millennium
Development Goals and beyond.
AWDO 2007 is ADBs first attempt to make a forward-looking assessment of the possible
water future for the most populous region of the world. It is now increasingly being
recognized that water is likely to be a major critical resource issue of the world, and that the
social, economic, and environmental future of Asia is likely to depend on how efficiently and
equitably this resource will be managed in the coming years.

About the Asian Development Bank

ADB aims to improve the welfare of the people in the Asia and Pacific region, particularly
the nearly 1.9 billion who live on less than $2 a day. Despite many success stories, the region
remains home to two thirds of the worlds poor. ADB is a multilateral development finance
institution owned by 67 members, 48 from the region and 19 from other parts of the globe.
ADBs vision is a region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries
reduce poverty and improve their quality of life.
ADBs main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue,
loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance. ADBs annual lending
volume is typically about $6 billion, with technical assistance usually totaling about $180
million a year.
ADBs headquarters is in Manila. It has 26 offices around the world and more than 2,000
employees from over 50 countries.

About the Asia-Pacific Water Forum

The Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF) provides countries and organisations in the region
with a common platform and voice to accelerate the process of effective integration of water
resource management into the socioeconomic development process of Asia and the Pacific.
The APWF is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan, non-political network.
The APWFs goal is to contribute to sustainable water management in order to achieve
the targets of the MDGs in Asia and the Pacific by capitalizing on the regions diversity and
rich history of experience in dealing with water as a fundamental part of human existence.
Specifically, the APWF seeks to champion efforts aimed at boosting investments, building
capacity, and enhancing cooperation in the water sector at the regional level and beyond.

Asian Development Bank

6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City
1550 Metro Manila, Philippines
www.adb.org/water
Asia-Pacific Water Forum
Secretariat: Japan Water Forum (JWF)
6th FI,1-8-1 Kojima Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, Japan APAN 102-0083
Tel +81 3 5212 1645
Fax +81 3 5212 1649
office@apwf.org
www.apwf.org/