ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: The Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Pakistan partnered with the Center for Strategic Perspectives (CSP) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) to hold a regional seminar discussion on “A Regional Approach to Transboundary Water Issues, Pathways and Challenges” in Islamabad on April 14, 2022. Two working sessions were held, with experts from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh one each on the following; Transboundary Water Issues in South Asia and Water Security Challenges in the Region.
Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Director General ISSI, in his welcome remarks said:
We have to protect water to protect our lives. We need to explore the cooperative approach when talking about transboundary water issues.
Dr. Steffen Kudella, Resident Representative of HSF Pakistan, in his opening remarks stressed on the importance of regional dialogue amongst experts:
By bringing experts from different backgrounds together to solve an important joint problem, solutions are being developed which come from different perspectives. These different perspectives together offer the best possible approach: one that is holistic, international and interdisciplinary.
The first session of the seminar was chaired by Dr. Muhammad Ashraf, Chairman, Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources and attended by Dr. Hassan Abbas from Pakistan and Dr. Medha Bisht from India. Dr. Abbas spoke about enhancing transboundary cooperation in water resource management. Dr. Medha Bisht spoke about transboundary water issues between Pakistan and India and suggested to move away from a rational to a relational approach when it comes to water.
Dr. Muhammad Ashraf reflected on the discussion and said:
We need to apply the global mind to resolve such challenges, to move from confrontation to cooperation.
The second session of the seminar was chaired by Mr. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, where Dr. Sara Nowreen from Bangladesh and Dr. Shaheen Akhtar from Pakistan spoke about water challenges in Bangladesh and the importance of understanding water-security nexus in Pakistan.
Mr. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh reflected on the key discussion points by the speakers and said that:
Domestic water agenda is linked to regional water discourse. Also, water cycle is changing the monsoon patterns within the region.
Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, Chairman BoG, ISSI in his concluding remarks highlighted the need of modern and innovative solutions to complement the existing water management mechanisms in the region.
The experts agreed that it is critical to work together more on shared regional resources such as water so as to find comprehensive, adaptable and sustainable solutions. The seminar aimed to establish a narrative based on critical transboundary water issues, specifically in the South Asian region and to find applicable collective solutions to curtail repercussions emanating from such issues.
Local and regional experts, academics, policy makers and civil society members participated in the discussions and spoke on related topics.
You may find the event photos at twitter.com/HSF_Pakistan. For more information on HSF Pakistan, please visit pakistan.hss.de and on CSP please visit https://issi.org.pk/csp/. Press contact: islamabad(at)hss.de.