Protecting Pakistan from the ebb and flow of floods and drought

Pakistan is a nation built around a single river, the 1,800-mile Indus. So pivotal is it to the nation’s fortunes — providing water for drinking, agriculture, and power — that taming it may be necessary to soften its sometimes-deadly moods, according to water engineer John Briscoe.

Managing the river’s floods and the region’s frequent droughts will require modern institutions and adequate infrastructure, Briscoe said. Erecting new dams may also be a central part of the long-term solution.

“Is building dams the answer alone? No,” said Briscoe, who heads the new Harvard Water Initiative at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and has worked on water issues in Pakistan for decades. “Is there any answer in Pakistan without building more dams? No.”

Read the full article in the Harvard Gazette