By Ayesha Saba ISLAMABAD, Feb. 22 (INP-WealthPK): “Recharge Pakistan” is one of the government’s priority programmes that encompasses nature-based solutions (NbS) for enhancing climate resilience. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan is working on the Recharge Pakistan project with the ministries of climate change and water resources, which is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Through cost-effective ecosystem-based adaptation, this initiative will strengthen Pakistan's climate resilience and water security. Talking to WealthPK, Senior Director Footprint, WWF-Pakistan, Dr. Masood Arshad said the federal government has provided Rs2 billion to initiate the Recharge Pakistan project to store floodwater at wetland sites. “The main objectives of the project are to reduce flood risks (torrential/river) by employing NbS, enhance water recharge in the Indus Basin (finalised sites) which hosts one of the world’s largest irrigation systems and supports 95% of the nation’s irrigated agriculture. The existing infrastructure includes four reservoirs, 16 barrages, 12 inter-river link canals, irrigation canals, and flood embankments. However, the present water storage capacity of Pakistan corresponds to just 15% of the average river flow, far lower than the world average, and this capacity is decreasing annually by 0.2 million acres feet,” he said. Dr. Masood said that the project was initially spread out over 11 sites, based on the areas which were badly damaged by river and torrential floods in 2010. “The pre-feasibility study narrowed these down to five sites that were most feasible for implementing NbS projects. These sites are scattered across all four provinces of Pakistan like Kaha watershed (Punjab), Taunsa pond area (Punjab), Dera Ismail Khan watershed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Chakar Lehri/Zhob watersheds (Balochistan), and Manchar watershed (Sindh),” he said. Dr. Masood shared that the project mainly focuses on (i) reducing the risks of torrential floods which cause devastation in terms of loss of crops, assets, infrastructure, livelihood and also habitat, and (ii) recharging groundwater which increases the cropping intensity in the command areas of these torrents. He added that it would not only help conserve floodwater, but also recharge the depleted aquifer or underground water resources. “By reducing the flood risks and increasing cropping intensity, the project directly impacts the sustainable economy. The extent and scale of the project activities will make the impact more visible at the national level,” he said. “We are focusing on NbS which is considered to be the main theme of this project. The world is facing a triple crisis in terms of coronavirus pandemic, climate action and debt-crisis. Nature-based solutions can address all these issues,” said the official, adding, “These are simply the solutions which focus on sustainable management and use natural features and processes; and have been used and practiced by the community for centuries.” Dr. Masood told WealthPK the project aims to enhance these solutions with sustainable measures by involving communities and utilising a more science and climate-based approach. “The proposed interventions will reduce the risks of floods in main torrents through watershed approaches in sub-streams,” he said. The official said the GCF has provided the seed money to develop the funding proposal and is the lead financer of this project along with other co-financers like the Government of Pakistan. He said the whole country will benefit from this plan that will greatly help address the issue of water shortage. The present strategy about water and flood management in Pakistan is based on grey infrastructure, or hard engineering. Though this has helped manage water resources and mitigate certain risks from moderate floods, it is unable to manage larger floods that are projected to occur with greater frequency and severity in the future due to huge expansion costs and inflexible infrastructure. Thus, this project will contribute towards improving water and food security at a national level, and climate-adapted livelihoods locally, increasing resilience through the protection and restoration of ecosystems and building the climate resilience of vulnerable communities in the Indus Basin.