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Integrated water resources management in an insecure river basin: a case study of Helmand River Basin, Afghanistan

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  • B.J.M Goes
  • S.E. Howarth
  • R.B. Wardlaw
  • I.R. Hancock
  • U.N. Parajuli

Abstract

The Helmand River Basin is a closed river basin in (semi)arid southern Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. Irrigation is by far the largest surface water use. Two of the three main rivers have large dams that regulate river flow for irrigation and hydropower. Water management in the basin faces a number of challenges, among which are insecurity, collapse of the river flow monitoring network in the Afghan part of the basin in 1980, inefficient operation and maintenance of existing water infrastructure, many drought years since 1999, reduced upstream water storage due to siltation of reservoirs, and a possible future reduction in snow storage as a result of a predicted temperature rise. The paper presents: (1) an overview of water resources and water management in the Helmand River Basin, where data are scarce and difficult to access; (2) a description of innovative methods used to generate simulated flow data for the basin, including the use of globally gridded data sets; (3) a discussion of how the reservoirs could be operated in light of irrigation and hydropower demand; and (4) a discussion on strengthening the transboundary cooperation between Afghanistan and Iran.

Suggested Citation

  • B.J.M Goes & S.E. Howarth & R.B. Wardlaw & I.R. Hancock & U.N. Parajuli, 2016. "Integrated water resources management in an insecure river basin: a case study of Helmand River Basin, Afghanistan," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 3-25, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:cijwxx:v:32:y:2016:i:1:p:3-25
    DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2015.1012661
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    Cited by:

    1. Ameneh Mianabadi & Kamran Davary & Hojjat Mianabadi & Poolad Karimi, 2020. "International Environmental Conflict Management in Transboundary River Basins," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(11), pages 3445-3464, September.
    2. Farshad Amiraslani & Deirdre Dragovich, 2023. "Iran’s Regional Transnational Water Partnerships: Unclear Rules, Unstable Partnerships, and an Unsettled Future," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Mohammad Naser Sediqi & Daisuke Komori, 2023. "Assessing Water Resource Sustainability in the Kabul River Basin: A Standardized Runoff Index and Reliability, Resilience, and Vulnerability Framework Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-21, December.
    4. Sarah Acquah & Frank A. Ward, 2017. "Optimizing Adjustments to Transboundary Water Sharing Plans: A Multi-Basin Approach," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(15), pages 5019-5042, December.

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