Prospecting high-altitude springs in the Upper Indus Basin, Pakistan: Knowledge towards policy development

Natural springs form a significant source of clean water for a large number of mountain communities in the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalaya (HKH) region. Adequate knowledge and understanding of this resource are lacking in this region where water demand has already been increased manifold owing to growing urbanization and climate change. In the present study, prospects of springs have been investigated under different physiographic conditions in the HKH region of Upper Indus Basin, Pakistan for sustainable water resource management. Among 3864 springs identified in the region, a maximum of about 14.9 % springs lie within 1500–2000 m elevation range followed by 14.8 % within 1000–1500 m and 14 % within 3500–4000 m range. A maximum of 1612 springs were observed over high mountains (>3000 m), followed by 927 springs over low mountains (1200–2000 m) and 842 over middle mountains (2000–3000 m). The spring density was observed maximum in the Himalaya (i.e., 0.05 springs/km²) followed by the Hindu Kush range (i.e., 0.04 springs/km²) and the Karakoram range (i.e., 0.01 springs/km²). Overall the density was found to be over 0.03 springs/km² in the three HKH ranges. The spring indicated a positive relationship with annual rainfall (R² value 0.79) highlighting the influence of rainfall in sustaining spring resource in the area. The adoption of an integrated water resource management approach and efficient water use are essential to sustain spring resource in this mountainous region. In-depth research on the hydrodynamic characteristics of springs is essential in the context of changing climate and land use to meet growing water demands and improve communities’ livelihoods in the HKH region in future.