river indus system

1. Transboundary Water Resources
Indus River

2. River System

4. Pakistan
in 1947

6. Within the British Empire
• Canals link regions in the basin together
– 23 barrages
– 45 canals
• Overarching Authority to settle disputes
• Modern-day Pakistan is major beneficiary
of development
– Historic use

7. Timeline Part I
• 1930s: British Empire begins allowing
more independence in states
– Conflict
• 1947: India and Pakistan become
independent states
– Pakistan has historic use
– India is upper riparian
– Also have conflict over Kashmir
– Punjab
– Interim Agreement

8. Timeline Part II
• 1948: India cuts off flow to Pakistan
through 2 canals
– Crops fail
– Tension on resumption of flow
• 1951: World Bank steps in
– Negotiations take almost 10 years

9. 1960: Indus Waters Treaty
• Pakistan wants separation of water
supplies
• India has control over the eastern rivers
– Ravi, Sutlej, Beas
• Pakistan has control over the western
rivers
– Indus, Chenab, Jhelum

10. 1960: Indus Waters Treaty
• WB helps fund projects in Pakistan to
compensate water loss (IBP)
– Tarbela and Mangla Dams
• Tarbela was the largest earth-filled dam at the
time
• 10 year transition period
• Commission to meet every year

12. Benefits for Pakistan
• More waterMore water
• Flood attenuation
• More agricultural land
• Hydropower
• More independence
from India

13. http://www.dams.org/docs/kbase/studies/drafts/pkscope.pdf

14. Problems With the IBP
• Water logging
– Water table up to 1 m below surface in some
places
• Salinity
• Sedimentation
– Impacts hydropower
• Resettlement
• Environment

15. Problems with the Treaty
• Old treaty
– population has changed water needs
– India is depleting aquifers
– Urbanization has increased municipal
demands
• Left India as the upper Riparian to
Pakistan
• Total separation of water resources
– (is this really a “problem”?)

16. Recent Developments
• India is planning the Baglihar Hydropower
Project on the Chenab River
– Pakistan claims a violation of the Treaty
– WB stepping in again
– Other previous development projects
• India has stopped attending annual
Commission meetings
• Kashmir

17. Questions!
http://ai.stanford.edu/~latombe/mountain/photo/muztaghata.html
• Do you think that the treaty is a
sustainable one, or is it out-dated?
• What important lessons can be learned
from the Tarbela Dam project?
• Would it be beneficial for Pakistan and
India to integrate their water systems? Is
it possible without conflict?

18. THANK YOU
CREATED BY : IBRAR AHMED
CLASS : XI COM B1