While the paper aims to empirically focus on the nature of environmental changes, social responses, and potential futures, it also highlights the multiple discourses and norms about water and the environment that nourish and propagate some of the erroneous claims and misrepresentations that have been put at the center of the ‘crisis’ discourse by an increasingly entrenched water and development ‘complex’ in Pakistan. The paper attempts to combine the different frames to simultaneously ponder over the trajectory of Pakistan’s aridity in the context of sustainability and security paradigms. The next section will delineate the context of exposure in the Punjab province. As elsewhere in Pakistan, depleting water is the prime environmental and sustainability issue. The case study follows.
The unprecedented movement of millions of Pakistanis from Pakistan to the EU over the last two decades is a testimony to the harrowing environmental conundrum of Pakistan. One of the primary causes is the deepening of Pakistan’s aridity, which is adversely impacting water. Pakistan today stands at the threshold of profound environmental changes and contestations that are fundamentally altering ecological conditions and political ecologies of water. This Environmental Changes in Pakistan paper takes up this broader challenge about the uneven, intersecting, and multi-scalar environmental changes in Pakistan in the context of security and sustainability paradigms by carrying out a community-based exploration of water users in a Punjab village in Chak Jhumra.
Environmental Impacts in Pakistan
Forests: Guardians of Ecological Balance and Climate Stability
Forests have been depleted not only for the sake of urbanization but also for the establishment of agricultural fields. This has accelerated soil erosion, which has caused not only the depletion of cultivable areas but also soil resources essential for the growth of a variety of crops. So, rapid deforestation results in the desertification of the land, which is a very acute environmental problem. Polluted water also results in the scarcity of water. This is due to deforestation as well. Villages depend on trees to meet their fuel and water demand. Thus, it is established that forests have more than individual benefits for an individual area or population system. In the recent past, it has been observed that the increase in forests may increase rainfall. The climatological role of plants is very important. Thus, it will be established through this research that large afforestation means that the biosphere increases rapidly and, therefore, protects the planet from natural damages in the form of floods, cyclones, etc.
Impacts of Environmental Changes in Pakistan
- Erosion Control: Stabilizes soil, preserves fertile land for agriculture.
- Climate Regulation: Absorbs carbon dioxide, mitigates greenhouse gas emissions.
- Water Conservation: Retains water, prevents runoff, replenishes groundwater sources.
- Biodiversity Support: Provides habitats, promotes ecosystem resilience, preserves biodiversity.
- Natural Disaster Mitigation: Acts as barriers against floods, landslides, storms.
- Air Quality Improvement: Filters pollutants, enhances air quality, reduces health issues.
- Socioeconomic Benefits: Provides employment, wood resources, non-timber forest products.
- Long-Term Sustainability: Ensures continuous ecosystem services, resilience to climate change.