Limited vision and vested interests have politicised the critical issue of water that is now leading to its scarcity and endangering the very existence of human being, says NWPF caretaker Chief Minister Shamsul Mulk. The Chief Minister called for a paradigm shift to deal with the critical issue adding, "Water has been allowed to become an issue of politics. We have to make a paradigm shift before doomsday comes'. Mulk here on Thursday said this while chairing a thought-provoking session on "Water and Land Use' that was arranged by Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. He said there is a dire need to overhaul the entire infrastructure related to water and the necessary changes in this regard should be made immediately to deal with this deadly issue of water shortage. Pakistan could not manage its water resources with care and is on the top of the list of water stressed countries, with water availability of 1,100 cubic meters per capita, which declined from 5,000 cubic meters per capita, he added. He said the bad news for the nation is that increasing population and looming danger of climate change have threatened fresh water availability. Chairman Department of Economics Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute New York John M Gowdy said that the effects of climate change on Pakistan are likely to be severed as compared to the rest of the world. It would result into environmental disruption. Water supplies are particularly vulnerable; sea level would rise due to melting of glaciers that may be catastrophic for the country. He said the country had low capacity to respond these changes due to poverty and lack of community cohesiveness. On basis of studies, he said the flow of the Indus River would increase at first until 2030 and then would decrease drastically after that by half by 2080. Talking about impact of climate change on South Asia, he said it might result into rising regional temperature, melting glaciers and sea level rise. He said Himalayan glaciers feed 12 major rivers that provide water for one billion people. More than 20 per cent of 466 South Asian glaciers shrank during the period from 1962 to 2001 due to the increase in temperature. Similarly, wheat and rice yields are declining due to warmer night temperatures. Owing to global warming worldwide food prices soared by 40 per cent during 2007. He feared that politics and ethnic strife in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India might further worsen the situation.