Articles | Volume 26, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-861-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-861-2022
Research article
 | 
17 Feb 2022
Research article |  | 17 Feb 2022

Future upstream water consumption and its impact on downstream water availability in the transboundary Indus Basin

Wouter J. Smolenaars, Sanita Dhaubanjar, Muhammad K. Jamil, Arthur Lutz, Walter Immerzeel, Fulco Ludwig, and Hester Biemans

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Cited articles

Ahmad, S. and Iqbal, J.: Transboundary impact assessment of Indian dams: a case study of Chenab River Basin in perspective of Indus Water Treaty, Water Policy, 18, 545–564, 2016. 
Amin, A., Iqbal, J., Asghar, A., and Ribbe, L.: Analysis of current and future water demands in the Upper Indus Basin under IPCC climate and socio-economic scenarios using a hydro-economic WEAP model, Water, 10, 537, 2018. 
Atef, S. S., Sadeqinazhad, F., Farjaad, F., and Amatya, D. M.: Water conflict management and cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, J. Hydrol., 570, 875–892, 2019. 
Basharat, M.: Water Management in the Indus Basin in Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities, in: Indus River Basin, Elsevier, 375–388, https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd-journal-d-11-00019.1, 2019. 
Basharat, M., Sultan, S., and Malik, A.: Groundwater management in Indus Plain and integrated water resources management approach, Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Lahore, Pakistan, available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283014096_Groundwater_Management_in_Indus_Plain_and_Integrated_Water_Resources_Management_Approach (last access: 15 February 2022), 2015. 
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Short summary
The arid plains of the lower Indus Basin rely heavily on the water provided by the mountainous upper Indus. Rapid population growth in the upper Indus is expected to increase the water that is consumed there. This will subsequently reduce the water that is available for the downstream plains, where the population and water demand are also expected to grow. In future, this may aggravate tensions over the division of water between the countries that share the Indus Basin.
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