Asma Yaqoob

Ms Asma Yaqoob is Research Analyst at the Institute of Regional Studies.

DOI: http://DOI Number

Keywords: India, Pakistan, Indus Water Treaty (IWT), seasonal flow, Indus Basin, water discords, climate change, water disputes, socio-political factors, institutional capacity

Abstract

In the past, India and Pakistan have successfully used the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) to resolve water disputes that arose out of partition of the Subcontinent. Changes in seasonal flow of the Indus Basin because of climate change could, however, ignite water discords in a readily volatile region. One of the most pressing questions in the field is whether climate change is the primary reason for resource scarcity and bilateral water disputes between India and Pakistan. This study analyses the causes of the rise in the number of water disputes between India and Pakistan. In doing so, it essentially focuses on sociopolitical factors and reveals that it is not resource scarcity induced by climate change that causes water disputes but the lack of institutional capacity in the region to absorb this change. Since the IWT divides trans-boundary waters without managing them, there is no institutional response to cover all variability in the basin in physical terms.

First Published

December 25, 2016

How to Cite

Asma Yaqoob, “Climate Change And Institutional Capacity in the Indus Basin,” Regional Studies 35, no.1 (Winter 2016-17): 3-32, https://regionalstudies.com.pk/wp/article/climate-change-and-institutional-capacity-in-the-indus-basin/

Issue

Volume 35, Issue 1