by Salam Buzdar. Allah Bakhsh, Reinier Veldman and Frank van Steenbergen
In the Kacchi Plains in Pakistan the world largest farmer managed irrigation system is in place. It uses the short-term floods and temporary flows to cultivate a vast area of more than 180,000 hectares, served by farmers-built channels and long earthen guide bunds, aided in recent years by a number of engineered structures. The water comes from several ephemeral streams and the semi-perennial Nari River, joining together and diverted and miraculously guided by the huge network of fragile earthen structures.
The Sounwah Dam is a 15 km long, 4-5-meter-high earthen guide bund that is part of the large Nari flood irrigation system. The guide bund’s function is to keep the floodwater bound within the extensive command area of the lower Nari area and prevent the floodwater from escaping eastward over uncultivated land toward the Dera Murad Jamai where it further passes to Indus. A flood channel is running along the Sounwah guide bund, carrying the floodwater to the downstream areas and avoiding water pressure on the bund.
The earthen structure is however prone to breaching in several sections, particular at the location of natural run-off drains. 21 settlements are officially served by the Sounwah Guide Bund, with a total area of 40,000 hectares. In addition, 10 other villages get flood water from Sounwah, though they are not in officially delineated command area.
For almost two decades, the Sounwah Dam was severely breached in several locations and spate irrigation became impossible. As a result, there was no water, no cultivation, no source of livelihoods: villages had to be abandoned, with people looking for labor opportunities in neighboring provinces. With this forced exodus and weak economic conditions of the farmers, there was also no longer the critical mass of manpower to repair the system.
It took an investment of less than Euro 45,000 under the RVO-funded NEWARBI project to reverse the tide and restabilize the area. With this investment 5 problematic breach sections – of a combined length of 800 meters were repaired and the flood channel was restored in 2021 over 6500 meters. This modest investment made it possible for an area of 15,000 ha to be cultivated in that year, with families returning to their houses, whereas drinking water was available again in the communal ponds.
Unforetold disaster struck in 2022 when Pakistan’s mega-flood washed over the Kacchi Plain and and washed out one of the restored breaches in the Sounwah Dam. This time there was resilience. Though the bund was breached the floodwater provided enough moisture to sustain a good crop. This was besides the reserves that people had built up in the previous year. With sufficient people and resources available the large area of 15,000 ha remains cultivated.
