The Effect of Water Shortage on the Livelihood of Local Communities in District Karak

Abstract

Water scarcity is one of the acute issues currently affecting the entire globe; it has been the core issue in most of the developing countries, where Pakistan is no exception. It creates severe barriers before farmers for the cultivation of crops and vegetables and stops the sustainable generation of income from this area. It is a general study focusing on the exploration and assessment of the impact of water scarcity on most aspects of livelihoods by the locals in Karak. In the result, it reflects that scarcity adversely affects the livelihoods 81.8% of which were perceived to have an impact. Furthermore, rainfall is one of the critical factors considered to be fundamental for crop productivity because the crop yields have been proved to enhance during the periods of rainfall, and this has increased by 78%. Animal husbandry also is observed to be boosted by wetlands, and this was found to be statistically positively correlated since Pearson's R = 0.107, and p < 0.05. There is little evidence provided about any relationship between water shortage and an income-generating source which is sustainable enough, leaving one to imagine that, in the major part, socio-economic parameters may drive these interrelating characteristics. A set of undertakings from the plan is expected to reduce this water shortage's impact like the construction of a water canal, upgrading irrigations' systems, as well as community-managed water supply projects. It places an emphasis on the interaction between natural resource management and the socio-economic policy in boosting the resilience in vulnerable groups. Long-term strategies about sustainable water usage and how livelihoods will be made secure can then be done as future research.

Keywords: Water scarcity; Livelihood; Sustainable Incomes; Rainfall.