Groundwater markets under the water scarcity and declining watertable conditions: The upland Balochistan Region of Pakistan

Groundwater Governance in a Water‐Starved Country: Public Policy, Farmers' Perceptions, and Drivers of Tubewell Adoption in Balochistan, Pakistan

“…The public sector policies of water sector development, improvements in technology, and subsidized electricity resulted in an increase in the area and yield of high value fruits, vegetables and crops, and a change in cropping patterns from low value to high value crops (Altaf et al ). In particular, apple farming increased rapidly, leading to the rise of the “apple economy” with to its 4 to 5 times higher return compared to conventional grain crops (Khair et al ).…”

“…The government of Balochistan currently lacks adequate legislation pertaining to the governance and sustainable management of groundwater (Van Steenbergen and Oliemens ; Van Steenbergen ; Insa ; Khair et al ). New groundwater governance measures, including direct regulation through licensing, registration of wells, and aggressive pricing policies, have been promoted but their implementation has been problematic and outcomes have been mixed.…”

“…Pakistan is among the most groundwater dependent countries but is struggling to establish suitable groundwater policies and governance arrangements. Currently, the rate of abstraction of groundwater far exceeds its replenishment, causing massive resource depletion, particularly in water poor provinces such as Balochistan (Khair et al ). This article examines Balochistan's groundwater polices, firstly through a historical perspective then by undertaking a farm level analysis to explore the factors driving the development of tubewells and hence groundwater decline in Balochistan, Pakistan.…”

“…From a groundwater governance perspective, policy settings, which include subsidies for agricultural tubewells and electricity, have played a major stimulating role in groundwater development in Pakistan over the last 40 years (Ahmad ; Qureshi et al ). These policies were successful in increasing agricultural production and prosperity but have also contributed to massive groundwater resource decline in areas such as Balochistan, a large arid zone agricultural province in southwestern Pakistan (Khair et al ). The challenge now is to ensure that the benefits derived from access to groundwater resources continue into the future; this requires a policy shift from groundwater development to long term groundwater management (Sharma et al ).…”

“…From a political economic perspective, the Pakistani government's subsidy policy for agricultural tubewells has been criticized for its financial implications, equity concerns, and impact on groundwater depletion and the complete withdrawal, or at least a downward revision of this policy, has been proposed (Khair et al ). The subsidy on electricity, which benefits only around 8 to 10% of farms out of approximately 200,000 farms across Pakistan, is also criticized for lacking equity (Ahmad ).…”