Freshwater withdrawals relative to available resources

E259 · CSS Evidence Bank v1

This card

The card What it proves Pairs with (2)In chains (2)

98.1% — Freshwater withdrawals relative to available resources · 2023UN SDG Pakistan profile · 2023Source named — not yet verified

Source

UN SDG Pakistan profile — https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/dataportal/countryprofiles/pak. Verified in source set / retroactive normalization pending.

What it proves

Indicates extremely high pressure on renewable freshwater resources.

Draft — not reviewed

What it does not prove: The denominator is decisive here: 98.1% measures withdrawals against total renewable resources net of environmental flows, most of which are transboundary Indus inflows, while the World Bank ESG series measuring withdrawals against *internal* resources reports 326%. The same country is at 98% or 326% depending on which water is counted as Pakistan's own, so the figure must be quoted with its denominator, and it should not be mixed with the 110% estimate from a different page and year.

Memory hook: 98.1% → nearly every renewable drop already withdrawn, before demand grows

Rebuts the claim: 'Pakistan still has headroom to expand irrigated area and industrial withdrawals' — the system is already drawing down almost all renewable availability.

Water SecurityClimateAgriculture

Pairs with

Agriculture accounts for about 95% of Pakistan's freshwater withdrawals; inefficient agricultural water use was estimateWorld Bank Under a 3°C warming scenario, Pakistan's water demand could rise by more than 50% by 2047 while supply remains relativel (Projection to 2047)World Bank

In chains and maps

Water → agriculture → climate → food securityWater → agriculture → climate → food security Pakistan Water SecurityPopulation pressure → high withdrawals → agricultural dependence → climate variability → IWT uncertainty → food/economic/national-security risk