WATER RELATED PROBLEMS IN AFGHANISTAN

Abstract

Fallowing three decades (before the Bone conference) political unrest and civil war, Afghanistan faces many different environmental problems; mainly water is a serious problem nationwide. Because of Afghanistan’s innate landlocked country, virtually all   major Afghanistan’s rivers drain off into riparian neighboring countries. According to the UNEP post-conflict environment Assessment report on Afghanistan, where as the country as a whole uses less than one-third of its water potential 75000 million cubic meters. Due to water scarcity, damaged water infrastructure systems during long time civil war in urban and rural areas water is a major and   important   problem. Meanwhile Afghanistan’s water potentials are an equal distributed. Afghanistan will not reach It’s   energy, irrigation (agriculture) or urban and rural development goals, without substantial improvement in the development and management of Afghanistan’s water resources. These goals are have crucial relation to the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS, 2008-2013). As a result of drought in recent years (1999-2003) in   Afghanistan degraded   widespread natural resources: lowered water tables, dried up wetlands, eroded land, depleted wildlife populations and denuded forests.  Excessive extraction of water for agriculture proposes combined with long term drought has led to drastic declines in water resources   and absolutely Afghanistan’s Environment is under the great pressures.