The Harvard South Asia Initiative (SAI) Conference was held at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) titled, “Water as a Platform for Development” on Saturday.
The conference aimed at formal introduction of the South Asia Initiative in Pakistan, which is an institute at Harvard University that advances teaching and research through an inter-faculty initiative that brings multiple perspectives on topics related to South Asia. The conference was also meant to demonstrate Harvard’s commitment in deepening its partnership with individuals and institutions in Pakistan and demonstrate ways in which Harvard students and faculty are engaging and can engage with their Pakistani colleagues.
The conference was chaired by Professor of Environmental Engineering at Harvard University John Briscoe while Senior Advisor to the Punjab CM, Zulfiqar Khosa, was the chief guest. Khosa informed the gathering that the CM had constituted an advisory panel on water, which included political and business leaders, civil servants and experts, which will work with international consultants, who will help Pakistan in developing action plans for reaching these goals. He said that the issue of water is a high priority for the country and Punjab government.
Khosa talked about two goals of the CM to turn Punjab into a regional agricultural superpower and ensure water security in Lahore. He stressed that if Pakistan was to move towards a more productive and secure water future, then it must invest heavily in generating knowledge and developing human resources in the water sector.
WAPDA Chairman Shakeel Durrani, former finance minister Sartaj Aziz, Punjab Agriculture Secretary Arif Nadeem, Ahmed Rafay Alam and former WAPDA member Khalid Mohtadullah were among the panel of the discussion. John Briscoe said that Pakistan and India need to forget the past and use water as a source of cooperation and not conflict. Briscoe’s career has focused on issues of water, other natural resources and economic development. He has worked in many countries and recently worked as the country director for Brazil with the World Bank.
Presently, he is in Pakistan, leading the FODP Water Task Force that is engaging with the government to produce an action plan on resolving the present water issues of Pakistan. The presentation of Briscoe was followed by presentation from students from disciplines at Harvard University on inter-provincial water issues, including discussion of the current legal and institutional framework for water allocation that exists in Pakistan, the contentious issues surrounding water allocation and the need to resolve these issues.
Shakeel Durrani said that the federal government was working on a proposal to set up the National Water Commission. He also talked about misuse of water. Durrani said that work on the Bhasha Dam has started but admitted, “We have neglected a few projects”. Sartaj Aziz said that it was unfortunate that institution and implementation capacities have deteriorated over the years adding that there was a need to develop a new institutional and organisational mechanism.
