Water

Country Water Action: Pakistan
Addressing Water and Poverty at the Grassroots: A Case Study of Area Water Partnerships and Women and Water Networks in Pakistan

This case study presents the efforts of Global Water Partnership and Gender Water Alliance to help communities, especially the women, work for their food, livelihood and water security.

The Global Water Partnership is a partnership among all those involved in water management working to support countries in the sustainable management of their water resources.

The Gender and Water Alliance is a network of 133 organizations and individuals from around the world working to promote water security for all. It is an associated program of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) funded by the governments of the Netherlands and United Kingdom.

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The Indus Delta consists of 1.5 million acres of land and a population of about 1.5 million people. Five million of these are fishermen.

The drying up of the River Indus downstream has permanently damaged the ecosystem, resulting to a significant decrease in fish and shrimp production and loss of mangrove forests. Food, livelihood and water security were breached, leading to an increase in poverty incidence in the area.

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To address the situation, the Indus Delta Area Water Partnership (IDAWP) was initiated in June 2001. The partnership included local NGOs, government departments, national level support organizations and local stakeholders, i.e. farmers and fisherfolk.

The partnership works to revitalize the Indus Delta and transform the water sector into an integrated sector complete with coordination among key stakeholders. One of its strategies is the formation and institutionalization of Women and Water Networks to serve as a platform for women's concerns and actions.

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Gender mainstreaming, strategic gender inputs, a focus on food and water management, and capacity building within local participatory institutions can address poverty.

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Simi Kamal
Raasta Development Consultants/ Gender and Water Alliance
E-mail: simi@raasta.com

Jasveen Jairath
South Asia Consortium of Interdisciplinary Studies in Water Resources/ Gender and Water Alliance
E-mail: saciwaters@rediffmail.com