Pakistan Water Gateway launched

4/10/2003

Mr. Riaz Ahmad Khan, Secretary, Ministry of Water and Power launched the Pakistan Water Gateway at a ceremony held yesterday at the ILO Auditorium in Islamabad. Envisioned as a one-stop website for all water related information pertaining to Pakistan on the Internet, the Pakistan Water Gateway is a pioneering initiative between IUCN - The World Conservation Union's Pakistan Programme (IUCNP), with support by the Government of Netherlands. It is a first for a developing country in this region in general, and in Pakistan in particular. The Gateway's launch also assumes significance because the United Nations has declared 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater.

Presenting the welcome address. Mr. Abdul Latif Rao, Country Representative IUCN Pakistan, said that unfortunately our country lacks the culture of information sharing and open access. He emphasized the importance of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) when he said that the purpose of the Pakistan Water Gateway is to bridge this gap between the government, civil society, media, water experts, students, researchers and the general public.

Mr. Rao enunciated IUCN's vision for water and nature, which guarantees the environmental, social and economic security in the conservation of natural resources. He said that IUCN Pakistan has decided to launch a full-fledged Water Programme at the national level, and that the Pakistan Water Gateway will be a critical knowledge tool in this regard.

Dr. Khalid Mohtadullah, a renowned water expert delivered his keynote address on “Integrated Water Resource Management and Information Technology”. He emphasized the need of integrated water resource management instead of the sectoral or even sub-sectoral approach that was being followed in the country. Information Technology, with its appropriate application could facilitate such an integrated management that could go a long way in dealing with the multifarious issues related to water through a rational approach and informed decision making.

Mr. Hasan Rizvi, Head, Education, Communication and Knowledge Management Group, IUCN Pakistan, highlighted the importance of knowledge in the modern age wherein there was a consensus among experts that knowledge was the dominant – perhaps the only – source of competitive advantage. According to him the Pakistan Water Gateway was envisioned to become a true knowledge repository about water in Pakistan. Through a graphic presentation, he outlined the salient features of the gateway. He said that it contained key information fact-sheets about different dimensions of Pakistan's water resources, its water sector strategy, an experts' directory, an information knowledge base about water sector organizations in Pakistan, a monthly newsletter, related articles and Internet resources, updated news, water legislation, policies and forums. The website's address is http://www.waterinfo.net.pk.

The chief guest, Mr. Riaz Ahmad Khan said that in recent years, water has emerged as one of the most critical themes of sustainable development, especially in the arid countries of the developing world like Pakistan. This scarcity of water is fast becoming a source of major conflict, not only between countries but also between different regions and communities within countries. Almost 70% of water across the globe is directly consumed in agriculture. For a country like Pakistan this figure exceeds 90%. Emotive issues and tensions between provinces related to agriculture in Pakistan, like dams, are due to dearth of reliable data and information on these subjects. He said that in the recently concluded World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan, great emphasis was laid on exchanging information about water and water resources among the nations of the world. To highlight the importance of information related to water, one full day in the conference was devoted to it and it was declared as the Water Information Day.

Mr. Khan said that while an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis have yet to get access to the Internet, the facility is now available in almost all the cities and even small towns in the country. There’s no better means for organizing an information and knowledge base except as a web-based repository. Coupled with other mass media, especially the radio and television – most important in a country with a low literacy rate – he hoped that the Pakistan Water Gateway's knowledge could be shared with a large number of Pakistani citizens. He said that the Ministry of Water and Power and the agencies working under it, would support this initiative by making available all public domain information for this gateway.

Dr. Asif Ali Zaidi, Head IUCN Islamabad Office, focused on the Pakistan Water Gateway's importance as a milestone towards good governance in water sector, by presenting diverse points of view of all the water stakeholders in the country. He said that we are already seeking collaborations, signing MoUs and meeting with government institutions and non-governmental organisations to let us help them in information and knowledge management by setting up their websites for the vital information resources they may have. A key component of such MoUs is to train their staff to help them constantly update their websites with the latest information, which will eventually be linked with the Pakistan Water Gateway. Dr. Zaidi said that IUCNP also has a vision to setup a Water Information Network in the country, networking and knitting together various stakeholders through this network.

Thanking the chief guest and stakeholders for their support, he hoped that the Pakistan Water Gateway will enormously help experts create linkages and share experiences with their global counterparts, and become a critical information resource for them in consummating Pakistan’s Water Vision 2025.