Karachi is the economic hub and financial lifeline of Pakistan. It enjoys the same financial importance and cultural significance in Pakistan as New York City has in the United States of America (USA). Do you know that the metro area economy of New York City generates USD 2 trillion in gross domestic product (GDP) or roughly 9% of the cumulative United States economy? Similarly, Karachi city alone generates 20% (or 1/5th) of the total GDP for Pakistan. Thus, there is a dire need for us to protect and preserve Karachi’s environment so that our financial hub will remain resilient enough to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. As per a research paper published in the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (JBES), Karachi city produces 472 million gallons of industrial and municipal wastewater each day, and sadly, a lion’s share of roughly 85% (i.e. 401 million gallons) of this wastewater is released into the Arabian Sea without any prior treatment. We must put an end to this unsustainable trend and do all it takes to recycle 401 million gallons of wastewater each day. Through recycling of wastewater and sustainable water management, we can use this additional water either in industrial processes or in various household tasks. In a year’s time, Karachi will release over 146 billion gallons of untreated industrial and municipal wastewater into the Arabian Sea. Adding insult to injury, cumulative untreated wastewater discharge in the Arabian Sea in a decade’s time would be over a whopping 1.4 trillion gallons. Imagine if we treated this wastewater and reused it to make our industries and households more resilient and well-prepared to meet water scarcity in Karachi. We need water to strengthen the social fabric of our society, boost our economic growth and create a more climate-resilient Karachi for our coming generations. If we put a price tag of USD 1 per gallon, this means we lose USD 146 billion worth of water each year, or we will lose USD 1.4 trillion worth of water in a decade. Even if we reduce the price to half a dollar per gallon, we will still lose over USD 700 billion in a decade’s time. Can we afford that? I doubt.
As per Michigan State University, Karachi gets only 550 to 600 million gallons of water each day against an estimated demand of 1200 million gallons per day. Thus, Karachi is already suffering from extreme water shortage and receives only half the water it needs each day. Through implementing the right policy actions in the right direction, we can recycle wastewater in Karachi and use it to boost sustainable industrial growth and mitigate water shortage in the financial hub of Pakistan. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is housed within the U.S. Department of Commerce, excess nutrients, either in the form of surface water run-off or channelled as wastewater into rivers and coastal areas, can cause an algal bloom that then creates dead zones in water bodies. As per National Geographic, the world’s largest dead zone is in the Arabian Sea, and it is large enough to cover the entire 63,700 square miles of the Gulf of Oman. NOAA refers to dead zones as biological deserts due to the fact that most of the marine life would either die or leave this area. We should take our ecosystems and the products and services they offer more seriously. We must change our perspective on wastewater and should rather see it as an important natural resource. We cannot take wastewater for granted. In fact, we should invest more financial resources and public policy attention to improve our expertise in recycling wastewater.
Karachi produces 472 million gallons of industrial and municipal wastewater each day, and sadly, a lion’s share of roughly 85% (i.e. 401 million gallons) of this wastewater is released into the Arabian Sea without any prior treatment.
A close collaboration with Singapore can facilitate Pakistan’s maturation of wastewater recycling in the country. As per Voice of America (VOA), recycled wastewater now satisfies 40% of Singapore’s water requirement, and it is further expected to satisfy 55% of Singapore’s water needs by 2060. Singapore uses most of this recycled wastewater for microchip manufacturing. Do you know that Singapore accounts for 10% of global microchip production and roughly produces 20% of semiconductor manufacturing equipment in the world? So can be the case for Pakistan too in a decade or two from now, provided we implement the right policy actions in the right direction. The market demand is there, and Pakistan has enough available human potential to increase its export revenue by serving this demand. Do you know that global demand for semiconductors is expected to reach USD 1 trillion by 2032? Now is the time for Pakistan to adequately train its youth to work in the semiconductor manufacturing sector. Through resource optimisation in the form of recycling of wastewater, adequate training of available human potential, producing 100% clean electricity, leasing out land and providing 100% renewable electricity at subsidised rates, we can turn Karachi city into an attractive hub for semiconductor manufacturing companies. Pakistan has what it takes to make this happen.
We simply cannot ignore wastewater in Karachi and must do all it takes to recycle and reuse it to boost economic growth, promote resilient social development and fight water scarcity. Wastewater originating either from industry or households is valuable and can facilitate us in maximising resource utilisation, doing more with less, promoting sustainable industrial growth and increasing per-capita water availability in Karachi. According to the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Singapore is turning its wastewater into drinking water through recycling. Converting wastewater into water that is clean enough to drink is helping Singapore mitigate water shortage. Do you know that Singapore is among the most water-stressed countries in the world? The city of Karachi is also experiencing an acute water shortage, and thus, we can also follow the footsteps of Singapore in mitigating water shortage in Karachi. If Singapore can recycle its wastewater, Karachi can recycle and reuse its wastewater too. It is possible, and we have what it takes to make this happen. In fact, we should aim to recycle and reuse every single drop of water in Karachi by 2040. We need water to sustain our social development, build a resilient society and boost our economic growth both today and tomorrow. Water is crucial to commence sustainable social and economic development, and we cannot shy away from this basic fact. We must tackle water scarcity in Karachi city head-on and do all it takes to solve it in a sustainable manner.
To conclude, recycling wastewater and reusing it would help us tackle two problems in one go. We will not flush wastewater into the Arabian Sea, and as a result, we will prevent the formation of dead zones in our coastal areas. This will help our marine ecosystem to recover, give a boost to our fish stocks, increase catch, reduce poverty in our coastal communities and thus make them more resilient against financial shocks. Recycling and reusing 146 billion gallons of wastewater each year will provide us with additional water that we can then use to satisfy the water demand of households and industries in Karachi. We should aim for a future where we would not waste even a single drop of water in Karachi and reuse it infinitely in households and industries. As discussed already, an increased supply of water can also lead to the creation of industries primarily producing microchips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment in Pakistan. Imagine that in a decade’s time, Pakistan would be earning USD 50 billion as revenue each year through the export of microchips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Recycling industrial and municipal wastewater will certainly boost our economic growth, generate employment, preserve the environment, increase per-capita water availability and sharply reduce poverty in Pakistan. All of this is realistic and possible provided we invest enough financial resources, public policy attention, together with planning, implementation and an effective follow-up in this direction. By implementing all the already discussed strategies, we would steer our industry and infrastructure towards sustainable development, reduce prevailing inequalities in our society, promote sustainable consumption & production, create sustainable cities, a healthy marine ecosystem and provide clean water to our coming generations. We have what it takes to make this happen. Choice is ours and will always be.
The writer is a Stockholm-based policy analyst and the Founder / Operations Manager of Project Green Earth (www.projectge.org). He can be reached at aubhameedi @yahoo.com.