Climate change and reservoir sedimentation implications for irrigated agriculture in the Indus Basin Irrigation System in Pakistan

Pakistan relies greatly on the water of the Upper Indus basin (UIB) for its vast agriculture in the Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS). There are already concerns about the extent of unsustainable water use in the IBIS, particularly of groundwater, and these concerns are likely to increase in the future due to population increase and associated increased demand for food. In addition, climate change, continuing reservoir sedimentation in the major dams, and other impacts on water supply and demand are likely to have an impact on the practical implementation of the landmark inter-provincial Water Apportionment Accord (the Accord), which governs surface water allocation in the IBIS. There is, therefore, a need to assess the sustainability of irrigation in light of the potential variations of water availability in the basin under a series of plausible climate change and reservoir sedimentation scenarios. In this paper, we examine the impact of continuing reservoir sedimentation and climate change by 2050 on the water balance of canal commands in the IBIS. Firstly, we used a river system model, the first to include water management rules as in the Accord, to propagate climate induced changes on flows in the UIB and their impact on IBIS flow regulation and canal deliveries (I-cw) with and without reservoir sedimentation. Secondly, we used a selection of General Circulation Models (GCMs) that showed skill at simulating the local climate of the IBIS to assess the projected changes to rainfall (P-n) and evapotranspiration (ETa). The analysis revealed that water balances in IBIS canal command areas are more significantly affected by changed inflows from the UIB than by localised climate induced changes (i.e. P-n and ETa). Continuing reservoir sedimentation in the dams to 2050 will diminish the capacity of the system to store flows during the wet summer Kharif season for its later release in the dry winter Rabi season. This will decrease the supply of I-cw in the Rabi season to the downstream IBIS areas in Sindh and Balochistan provinces, and potentially increase supplies in the Kharif season. The impact of reservoir sedimentation on the Rabi water supply (33 mm (13%) decrease in median I-cw, equivalent to 1.89 km(3)), is greater than the impact of projected localised climate change within the IBIS (2 mm (12%) decrease in median P-n, equivalent to 0.13 km(3)). Sedimentation combined with climate change decreases the median I-cw by 51 mm (20%, equivalent to 2.91 km(3)) in Rabi in the low flow scenario and increases it by 48 mm (8%, equivalent to 2.72 km(3)) in Kharif in the high flow scenario. In the upstream Punjab province, however, reservoir sedimentation will have limited impact by 2050 due to lower ETa in Rabi and the availability of groundwater. Continued reservoir sedimentation beyond 2050 will also affect Punjab, again diminishing the supply of I-cw in Rabi and increasing it in Kharif. Concurrently, declining I-cw could lead to a substantial reduction in crop areas in the Rabi season. To avoid this undesirable scenario, Pakistan needs to explore both demand and supply management options to achieve food and economic security, as well as controlling sedimentation rates in reservoirs.

Automated summary

Pakistan heavily depends on the water resources of the Upper Indus basin for agriculture, facing challenges of unsustainable water use and climate change. Solutions are needed to address these issues for water and food security.