1. ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN IN THE PERIOD SEPTEMBER 1996 - MAY 1998 1.1 Meetings of the IHP National Committee
The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) is the secretariat of the National IHP Committee. Due to some unavoidable circumstances, meetings of the Committee could not be held during the report period. However, from time to time the Convenor had meetings and discussions with individual members.
1.1.1 Decisions regarding the composition of the IHP National Committee
The composition of the committee presented in the previous National Report has been revised as:
(i) Chairman, PCRWR
(ii) Jt. Scientific Advisor, Ministry of Science & Tech.
(iii) Director, CEWRE
(iv) Chief Engineer (Hydrology), WAPDA (v) Secretary General, PNCU
(vi) Representative of Irrigation Dept., Govt. of NWFP (vii) Representative of Irrigation Dept., Govt. of Balochistan (viii) Chief Engineer (Development), Govt. of Sindh
(ix) Chief Engineer, IRI, Govt. of Punjab
Under phase IHP-IV, the following activities were successfully completed:
(i) 4th Regional Training Seminar on Ice & Snow Hydrology, held at lslamabad during January 1990
(ii) 8th International Hydrological Technician Training Course, held at Lahore from November 1990 to January 199 1
(iii) Regional Workshop on Saltwater Intrusion Problem, held at Lahore during January 1991 (iv) 9th International Hydrological Technician Training Course, held at Lahore from November
1991 to January 1992
(v) Advanced Techniques of Groundwater Modelling, held at Lahore from 1 to 16 February 1993 (vi) Pollutants Transport and Monitoring in Vadose Zone, held at Lahore from 3 1 July to 4 August
1994
(vii) National Workshop on Drainage System Performance in lndus Plain and Future Strategies, held at Tandojam from 28 to 29 January 1995
(viii) Computer Applications in Hydrology and Water Resources, held at Lahore from 14 to 28 May 1995
(ix) Hydrological Analysis, held at Lahore from 24 June to 3 1 August 1995
(x) Integrated Water Resources Management for Sustainable Development, held at Lahore from 14 to 25 October 1995
(xi) 10th International Hydrological Technician Training Course, held at Lahore from November to December 1995
1.1.3 Decisions regarding contribution to/participation in MP-V
The FRIEND project has been extended to the Hindo Kush Himalaya (HKH) region under Theme I - Global Hydrological and Geochemical Processes of IHP-V. For this project, the PCRWR has been nominated by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of Pakistan, as the focal point in Pakistan.
1.2 Activities at a national level in the framework of the IHP 1.2.1 National/local scientific and technical meetings
During March 1997, the PCRWR celebrated World Water Day on the theme “The World’s Water: Is There Enough?“. In this context, one-day seminars were organized all over Pakistan on themes covering Pipe Irrigation and Small Dams, Artificial Recharge and Kareze vs. Tubewells, Collaborative Field Drainage and Skimming Wells, and Saline Agriculture and Rainwater Harvesting.
Dr Bashir A Chandio, Convenor of the Committee, highlighted the importance of the proper use of water resources in agricultural, industrial and domestic sectors on Pakistan Television during March 1998. Viewers from all over the country took part in the discussion through telephonic questions. The programme brought about a good deal of public awareness on the subject.
During the reporting period, the Committee co-ordinated and sponsored the following activities:
(a) International Training Course on Groundwater Geology and Potable Water Supply to Rural Areas, held at Peshawar from 6 to IO October 1996
(b) International Workshop on Water for the 21st Century: Demand, Supply, Development and Socio-environmental Issues, held at Lahore from 17 to 19 June 1997
(c) National Workshop on Impact of Drainage on Environment: Problems and Solutions, held at Jamshoro from 10 to 12 August 1997
(d) National Workshop on Quality of Drinking Water, held at Islamabad on 7 March 1998
(e) International Symposium on Agro-Environmental Issues and Future Strategies towards the 2 1 st Century, held at Faisalabad from 25 to 30 May 1998
1.2.2 Participation in the IHP Steering Committees/Working Groups
Dr Bashir A. Chandio participated in the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the HKH- FRIEND project, held at the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu, Nepal from 11 to 12 May 1998.
Dr Muhammad Latif, Director, Center of Excellence in Water Resources Engineering (CEWRE), who is member of the working groups for Projects 2.1 and 2.3/2.4 of IHP-V, could not attend the symposium on Eco-hydrology held in Austria in May 1997 due to lack of sponsorship.
1.2.3 Research/applied projects supported or sponsored
l Development of Low-Cost Water Treatment Plant for Rural Area.
1.2.4 Collaboration with other national and international organizations/programmes
III the IHP activities collaboration is being sought with various national institutions like the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), National Flood Forecasting Bureau, PINSTECH and the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), and international organizations like the International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI), ICIMOD, and the Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM), Jordan.
1.2.5 Other initiatives
l Donors for the project entitled “Establishment of Hydrologic Research Institute of Pakistan (HY DRIP)” are being sought.
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1.3 Educational and training courses 1.3.1 Contribution of IHP
Due to a shortage of funds and the poor response of the UNESCO Office in New Delhi, Pakistan could not get proper support to offer or host regional training programmes on groundwater modelling, irrigation scheduling, drainage impact assessment and surface hydrology. However, the PCRWR has been extended the post-graduate fellowship programme in the water sector at the country’s technical universities.
1.3.2 Organization of specific courses
During the report period, the following two training courses were organized:
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Surface Water Pollution and Management, held at Lahore from 14 to 23 December 1996(ii) Role of Project Management Software in Ensuring Successful Completion of Projects in Pakistan, held at Lahore from 29 December 1996 to 2 January 1997
1.3.3 Participation in IHP courses
UNESCO has sponsored the participation of the following two Pakistani trainees in the international/regional training courses:
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Mr Aurang Zeb Khatak, Assistant Director, PCRWR, participated in the 7th Training Course on Snow Hydrology held in Nagoya, Japan from 9 to 22 March 1998.(ii) Mr Bashir Ahmad Zia, Assistant Director, PCRWR, attended the Training Course on Introduction to Database Management held in Kathmandu, Nepal from 12 to 20 May 1998.
1.4 Publications
Proceedings of the International Workshop on Water for the 21st Century: Demand Supply, Development and Socio-environmental Issues , held at Lahore from 17 to 19 June 1997
1.5 Participation in international scientific meetings 1.5.1 Meetings hosted by the country
Two technical meetings were hosted by this National IHP Committee.
The first meeting with Prof. S.R. Chalise of ICIMOD was held at Islamabad during December 1996 in pursuance of mutual co-operation between the regional countries working under HKH-FRIEND.
PCRWR arranged his visits to its field sites and research stations in Balochistan and NWFP provinces.
A second meeting with Prof. M.F. Bari, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh, was held in Islamabad during August 1997 for seeking technical help of the Pakistan IHP National Committee in preparing a detailed project proposal of the HKH-FRIEND, i.e., a component of the FRIEND project. He also visited watersheds and gauging stations on Swat River.
His meetings with other members of the National Committee at Lahore were arranged by the secretariat of the Committee. The General Manager (Planning/Water) and Chief Engineer (Hydrology) of WAPDA, Prof. Dr M. Latif, Director of CEWRE, and the Director of the National Flood Forecasting Bureau are the members who were visited.
1.5.2 Participation in meetings abroad
Dr Bashir Chandio participated in the Regional Consultative Meeting on Water Harvesting for Mountain Households in the Hindu Kush Himalayas held at Chengdu, Sichuan, China from 9 to 14
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April 1997. He has presented a technical paper on “Water Harvesting for Mountainous regions of Balochistan” and actively participated in the formulation of recommendations.
1.6 Other activities at a regional level 1.6.1 Institutional relations/co-operation
This National Committee has established relations with ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal, to launch the HKH-FRIEND research programme in this region. In this regard, the necessary co-operation has been extended to co-ordinate the project activities in Pakistan.
1.6.2 Completed and ongoing scientific projects
2.
2.1
2.2 (4
2.3 (a>
(b) cc>
FUTURE ACTIVITIES
Activities till December 1999
Study of the Flood Flow Behaviour of a Selected Stream of Pakistan Water Quality Survey of a Selected River of Pakistan
Groundwater Contamination from Nitrates in Irrigated Areas of Pakistan (Phase I) Establishment of Electronic Data Base on Water Resources of Pakistan
Establishment of Small Hydrological Research Station in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Range of Pakistan
Activities planned for 2000-2001
Research activities on Artificial Groundwater Recharge in selected water depleting areas of Pakistan
Groundwater Contamination from Nitrates in Irrigated Areas of Pakistan (Phase II) Three-Day Regional Workshop on Pollution and Degradation of Water Resources Short course on groundwater quality modelling
Pestidide risk in groundwater: Monitoring of groundwater in selected agricultural areas Short course: Use of electrical resistively survey to assist in zonation of groundwater quality Activities envisaged in the long term
Two numbers of the International Hydrology Technicians Training Course (IHTTC).
Pollution of groundwater in industrial areas: Reconnaissance and strategies.
Short course: Computer applications in groundwater hydrology.
Full proposals will be prepared in collaboration with the UNESCO Regional Office, New Delhi, if these areas as proposed are agreed and included in the respective programmes.
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