GROUNDWATER AND EMERGING CHALLENGES IN PAKISTAN
GROUNDWATER AND EMERGING CHALLENGES IN PAKISTAN 1, AVAILABILITY Pakistan is an agriculture country. Agriculture contributes 40% in employment share and 60% in import earning. Ground water is one of the various resources which plays vital role in areas where the irrigation system is not fulfilling the irrigation needs. Pakistan primary ground water resource is in the irrigated areas of the Indus Basin, while the secondary source is the area outside the Indus Basin. Indus basin is underlain by unconfined aquifer covering about 40 million acres (MA) of surface area of which 15 MA is fresh and 25 MA is saline. The aquifer receives its direct recharge from natural precipitation, river flows and continued seepage from canal, distributaries and watercourses. Indus basin aquifer ranked as the 2 nd most over stressed underground water reserve in the world. It contributes more than 50% in agriculture sector, around ...