Tania Imran – FutureWater

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched the Asia-Pacific Water Scarcity Program (WSP) to help countries across the region address the increasing challenges of water scarcity. The program aims to promote sustainable water use and support economic productivity despite growing water constraints.

Mongolia’s inclusion in the WSP presents a valuable opportunity to strengthen its water management capabilities. By applying proven methodologies and resources, the program will enhance the capacity of Mongolia’s Water Resource Ministries and River Basin Organizations (RBOs) to tackle the country’s unique water challenges effectively.

To demonstrate the effectiveness of Water Accounting for improved water management under a changing climate, FutureWater, with FAO’s support, is conducting a Water Accounting assessment for Mongolia’s two key river basins—the Tuul and Orkhon. Using cutting-edge techniques and tools, this initiative will provide critical insights to support sustainable water allocation and long-term resilience.

With the highest rate of urbanization in South Asia and as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, Pakistan faces a range of complex challenges, including more frequent and intense flooding, declining economic productivity, and deteriorating public services. Growing dependence on groundwater, coupled with insufficient surface water recharge, is leading to severe localized groundwater depletion.

With support from the Asian Development Bank, the Government of Pakistan aims to upgrade and expand water and sanitation infrastructure in the cities of Sargodha and DG Khan, both of which face significant climate change-related challenges that impact combined drainage and sewer networks. The project has three major outputs:

improving climate-resilient urban infrastructure and services,
enhancing institutional capacity, operational efficiency, and gender inclusiveness of service providers, and
creating greater economic empowerment opportunities for women in the WASH sector.

To assess the exposure and vulnerabilities of project components to potential climate risks, FutureWater will utilize advanced downscaled Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) ensembles, along with relevant hazard data and local information, to conduct a detailed Climate Risk Assessment (CRA). The insights gained will enable the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to implement effective adaptation measures and ensure climate-resilient development.

The International Soil and Water Forum, organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, brought together over 500 participants from 55+ countries in Bangkok in December 2024.

Shared experiences under the four thematic areas: i) managing water scarcity, ii) reversing land degradation and boosting land restoration, iii) sustainable soil management and iv) integrated climate resilient and, soil and water management, provided a holistic overview of the status, challenges, best practices and potential opportunities for achieving water and food security while maintaining healthy ecosystems.

Key government officials from countries such as Pakistan, Thailand, Egypt, Peru and Nepal highlighted the importance of decision-making based on scientific evidence and acknowledged data availability, accessibility, affordability and utilisation as major issues in developing countries. Comprising of 3 plenary sessions, 16 thematic sessions and 9 side events, the forum was successful in getting the ‘Ministerial Declaration on managing water scarcity and reversing soil degradation for sustainable and resilient agrifood systems’ endorsed by ministers and representatives from 27 countries.

During the forum, Peter Droogers and Tania Imran from FutureWater presented the ongoing work on Water Accounting under FAO’s Water Scarcity Program running across 5 countries (Thailand, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Mongolia and Indonesia). In collaboration with FAO’s NENA office, FutureWater also hosted the Inter-Regional Policy Dialogue on WEFE nexus and presented the newly developed tool ‘REWEFe’ (Rapid evaluation of Water, Energy, Food and ecosystem) which quantifies the inter- and intra-linkages within the four sectors.

Uzbekistan is one of the fastest-growing economies in Central Asia, driving a steady rise in energy demand. However, the country faces significant power shortages due to increasing consumption, declining efficiency of aging power plants, and mounting climate pressures, particularly in regions like Tashkent, Samarkand, and Sirdarya. In response, Uzbekistan is prioritizing renewable energy development, especially solar power, to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. With its abundant sunlight, the country is well-positioned to harness solar energy, and several large-scale photovoltaic (PV) projects are currently in progress.

With the support of the Asian Development Bank, Uzbekistan aims to strengthen energy security and promote environmental sustainability by developing three solar PV plants (100 MW, 400 MW, and 500 MW), two substations, two battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities, and associated transmission lines across Samarkand, Bukhara, Jizzakh, Sirdarya, and Tashkent provinces. To identify the exposures and vulnerabilities of these project components to potential climate risks, FutureWater will utilize advanced downscaled Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) ensembles, along with relevant hazard data and local information, to conduct a rapid Climate Risk Assessment (CRA). The insights gained will enable the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to implement effective adaptation measures and ensure climate-resilient development.

Currently, Pakistan’s energy mix consists of 58.8% thermal, 25.8% hydel, 8.6% nuclear, and 6.8% alternative sources, reflecting efforts to diversify from fossil fuels. Pakistan’s installed electricity generation capacity reached 41,557 MW by 2022, with significant growth in transmission line length over the past 5 years. However, the T&D system has not kept pace with the nearly 15,000 MW capacity added during 2017-2021 (ADB, 2024). Despite investments, transmission and distribution losses averaged about 18% over the last 5 years, exceeding the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (NEPRA) 15.3% target. In 2020, 23.7% of generated energy was lost during transmission, distribution, and delivery (ADB, 2024). Notably, transmission and distribution losses exceed 25%, far higher than in comparable countries (GoP, 2017). Therefore, there is an urgent need to upgrade the existing distribution infrastructure to fulfill the energy demands and ensure steady socioeconomic development in the country. ADB will provide financing for four underperforming DISCOs, selected in consultation with the Ministry of Energy: Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO), Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO), the Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO), and the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) to:

to upgrade the critical infrastructure of these DISCOs to reduce technical losses.
to implement revenue protection measures to improve collections. Additionally, the project design includes embedded climate resilience and reform measures to enhance institutional capacity and financial sustainability.

These rehabilitation efforts will also take into account and address the growing impacts of climate change in four DISCOs. FutureWater will make use of state-of-the-art downscaled Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) ensembles, and other relevant hazards and local information to develop this CRA. Insights from the CRA will be used to devise adaptation strategies. Additionally, FutureWater will be reviewing the existing meteorological monitoring network and recommending additional potential monitoring sites for improved surveillance in the country. To further assist the Government of Pakistan, in actualizing its second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) agenda which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of GDP by 50% (compared to the level in 2016), by the year 2030, FutureWater will also develop a GHG account and prepare a Paris Agreement alignment assessment.

FutureWater, in collaboration with FAO Pakistan, has been implementing a hands-on training on Water Accounting under the GCF project titled “Transforming the Indus Basin with Climate Resilient Agriculture and Water Management”. Comprising of 7 modules, the capacity building program has been running since December 2023, with both online and in-country training sessions.

The latest in-country session took place from 10th-15th June at the FAO office in Islamabad where 35 participants from both Punjab and Sindh provinces successfully completed Module 5 and Module 6. Module 5 focused on the development of WEAP models for the seven respective spatial scales while the aim of Module 6 was to build and assess different socioeconomic and climate change scenarios. Participants understood the key differences between projections and interventions, and learned how to extract and pre-process climate projections data for generating different SSPs scenarios in WEAP. Similarly, the multidisciplinary groups were able to analyse the gaps between supply and demand based on the initial model results.

The next module, which is also the last module of the training program, will enable participants to translate the scientific findings into policy action through the development of different knowledge products i.e. infographics and policy briefs. The knowledge products will mainly be designed for decision makers and farmers and will serve as evidence for informed decision making and equitable use of water resources under different constraints. This training will mark the completion of the first round of water accounting which will be subject to improvement based on the in-situ monitoring equipment being installed under this project.

Increasing water scarcity continues to threaten the agricultural sector in Asia. To address this critical issue, FAO and its partners have been developing a comprehensive Asia-Pacific Water Scarcity Programme (WSP) since 2019. The program aims to assess the ongoing issue of water scarcity in the region, evaluate potential management options, and assist partner countries in implementing adaptive management in the agricultural water sector using innovative tools and approaches.

Addressing the issue of water scarcity requires a sound understanding and development of water accounts to ensure evidence-based decision-making for equitable use and allocation of water resources under a changing climate. To achieve this, a comprehensive hands-on training program on water accounting will be developed and implemented across four countries: Indonesia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, and Thailand. In collaboration with the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), FutureWater will design and deliver the water accounting training program. This program aims to not only improve participants’ understanding of water accounting but also enable them to use modern and innovative tools to develop water accounts, with a particular focus on quantifying linkages between field interventions and basin-scale hydrology.

Participants will work with tools such as REWAS and Follow the Water (developed by FutureWater in collaboration with FAO) to conduct water accounting in agricultural systems at different scales. Through the use of these tools, participants will be able to estimate real water savings at system and basin scales and analyze the impact of different irrigation schemes on the overall water availability in the system. Moreover, participants will also learn how to access and extract remotely sensed datasets to assess the status of the water resources in the Nam Ngum pilot basin.

As part of the FAO’s Asia-Pacific Water Scarcity Programme (WSP), FutureWater conducts a scoping study to identify opportunities to improve sustainable water resources management in the country. Following this scoping assessment, FutureWater develops bankable investment concept notes for activities to strengthen national capacities to implement policy actions that prepare Mongolia for a water scarce future. As part of the project, a high level stakeholder consultation forum with key government stakeholders and development partners is organized to validate the findings of the assessment and prioritize the investment concepts.

Mongolia has a strong commitment to IWRM, as defined in the 2012 Water Law, and good progress has been made. This includes the establishment of river basin organizations (RBOs) to manage the 29 river basins in the country. Currently, there are 21 operational RBOs. However, these bodies lack the experience needed for implementation of their tasks. Training and professional development of employees of the water basin authorities are of the utmost importance, to enable them to implement the assigned tasks and be better positioned for advancing implementation of Target 6.5 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This week, the second part of the Water Accounting Training for the Agriculture, Climate and Water Sector Organizations in Pakistan has been successfully completed at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) office in Islamabad, Pakistan.

As an agrarian economy that heavily depends on water, it is crucial for Pakistan to adopt a more integrated water management approach and formulate data-driven strategies to avert from the deepening water crisis.

This training has been designed by FutureWater and FAO as part of the Green Climate Fund funded project titled: ‘Transforming the Indus Basin with Climate Resilient Agriculture and Water Management’. Component 1 of this project focuses on enhancing information services for climate change adaptation in the water and agriculture sectors.

This second part of the training is comprised in seven modules and the aim is to enable stakeholders to develop water accounts at different scales. Given the growing issues of water scarcity, climate change impacts and unmet irrigation demands, this water accounting system can aid decision-makers to design evidence-based policies and achieve sustainable water resources management.

In this in-person training of one week, participants further extended their knowledge on how to compute inflows and outflows of a system at using remote sensing and assessing global datasets.

More information about the project can be found here.

The second Water Accounting training under FAO’s Water Scarcity Program took place from 13 – 18 November in Bangkok. Participants from various governmental departments and academic institutions gained practical experience in utilizing different geospatial and water resources modeling tools for developing a water account.

As part of the Water Scarcity Program (WSP), FutureWater designed and delivered a two-phase water accounting training program in Thailand. The WSP, designed by FAO-RAP and partners, aims to bring agricultural water use within sustainable limits and prepare the sector for a productive future with less water. The program aims to assess the ongoing issue of water scarcity in the region, evaluate potential management options, and assist partner countries to implement adaptive management in the agriculture water sector using innovative tools and approaches.

The first phase of the training primarily focused on introducing and better understanding the concept of water accounting, its components and approaches. Participants worked with tools such as REWAS and Follow the Water (developed by FutureWater in collaboration with FAO) to conduct water accounting in agricultural systems at different scales. 

The second phase of the training aimed at extracting, processing and analysing data for the Pa Sak basin to build a water account. Participants analysed trends in precipitation, evapotranspiration, and land use using Google Earth Engine and developed a WEAP model to assess water availability and shortages under different scenarios. The training was followed by a visit to the Pa Sak basin where the participants gained insights from different water users and managers. These included the water user group at Kaeng Khoi-Ban Mo Joint Management Committee for irrigation, Pa Sak Jolasid dam and hydropower operators, Nong Khae industrial estate managers and provincial waterworks authority officials responsible for water supply.

In the coming months, FutureWater will focus on providing technical inputs for the regional WSP events and highlight the technical challenges of implementing water accounting and allocation in Southeast Asia for the WSP High Level Technical Meeting scheduled in June 2024.