By Ayesha Saba ISLAMABAD, OCT 29 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan – once a water surplus country – is now categorized as a water-scarce country, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranking it the third among the water-stressed countries. Several factors like increasing urbanization, agriculture, mismanagement of water system, droughts, reduced rainfalls, pollution and depleting of dams have contributed to the water crisis. In Pakistan, 80 percent of people living in 24 major cities lack access to clean drinking water. In the slums of Karachi, 16 million people do not have access to running water. The Indus River system authority (IRSA) has reported that the country wastes about USD18 billion worth of water every year just because there aren’t enough proper storage facilities. Availability of surface water has decreased from 5,260 cubic meters per capita in 1951 to 1,000 cubic meters per capita in 2016. This figure may fall to about 860 cubic meters by 2025, which means Pakistan is moving from “water pressure” to “scarce water”. Pakistan is a country where no dams have been constructed since the decade of 1960s or over the last 50 years. Dam construction is capital-intensive and requires expertise, so no focus has been paid to this area. In order to build big dams, especially along the Indus, to ensure an abundant supply of water for agriculture and power generation, the country has struggled to raise money from the international financial institutions (IFIs) but it is facing a host of obstacles in this regard. In these pressing circumstances, China has turned up the trumps with the launch of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China will fund Pakistan to build five dams in the North Indus River Cascade costing $50 billion. The Cascade is capable of generating 40,000MW of hydel power. China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) would oversee construction of these five dams, including Diamer-Bhasha, Pattan, Thacoat, Bunji and Dasau. This would be the biggest-ever Chinese investment in Pakistan besides already committed projects worth $57 billion under CPEC. Both countries are stepping up efforts on committed projects focusing on cooperation in agriculture, industrial and improvement of people. China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the southern prong of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) covering a range of infrastructure, energy and industrial projects. BRI is an opportunity that Pakistan intends to fully utilize to overcome its trade, water and energy deficiencies. Diamer-Bhasha Dam being the third largest dam in Pakistan would be completed in nine years costing around $12 billion. This multipurpose dam will benefit the country both economically and environmentally, especially Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and greatly overcome water shortage besides guaranteeing water security. In order to minimize water scarcity, protect ecology, reduce natural disasters, and conserve biodiversity, Pakistan can replicate the Chinese rainmaking network across its length and breadth. China is also developing the world’s largest weather-manipulating system comprising tens of thousands of fuel-burning chambers. This system will increase rainfall over an area of approximately 1.6 million square kilometers. With the execution of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Pakistan can also benefit from this technology. To make the most of its water resources, the entire water chain of Pakistan requires fundamental adjustments and needs a sound national water policy for balanced socio-economic development. The government should actively ensure efficient use of agricultural water, maintain and upgrade the existing water infrastructure, raise community awareness about water conservation and water rights and address the serious issue of communities who lost their lands due to construction of dams.