Pakistan Study Tour 2006
Background
ICE WaRM proudly hosted a group of twelve senior government officials from Pakistan for a study tour to Australia, September 3-9th, 2006. The group visited Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and a number of Victorian regional centres, including Echuca, Wakool and Shepparton.
Pakistan is a country of over 160 million people and covers an area of about 750,000 square kilometres. To put that in perspective, Australia's Murray Darling Basin covers about 1,000,000 square kilometres. Pakistan is one of the world's most arid countries, with an average rainfall of under 240mm per annum. In some areas, salinity is a significant problem.
Currently, there is insufficient water supply in Pakistan to meet all crop requirements. Similar to Australia, Pakistan is also experiencing extended periods of drought which places added pressure on water security. Climate change is likely to reduce water availability by 30-40 percent over next 50 years as glaciers rapidly recede. Pakistan has the world's largest continuous irrigation system, at over 18 million hectares, with most of the water sourced from Himalayan snow melt occurring in neighbouring countries.
Study Tour Overview
The study tour included meetings with senior water members of the World Bank, the National Water Commission, AusAid and the Federal Government; representatives from public water authorities and private water industries; and State Government departments, including the Department of Primary Industries, Victoria and the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland.
Highlights of the trip included attendance at the opening session of the River Symposium, as well as tours of a range of relevant sites, including water infrastructure such as weirs, dams, irrigation and salt interception schemes and horticultural and dairy properties.
The study tour was organised in an attempt to expose the most senior water managers in Pakistan to the water resources management regimes that have been established in
Outcomes of the study tour included developing an understanding of the following:
- Institutional arrangements for Australian water management
- The political processes that drive policy development and implementation
- The range of models that have been established in each state to manage irrigation
- Funding arrangements for activities related to water management
- Issues associated with river basin management
For further information about organising study tours, please email mail@icewarm.com.au
