ABSTRACT
Aside from the issues peace and stability, one of Afghanistan’s most vital needs is safe and
reliable supplies of water. But Afghanistan faces certain economic, political, institutional problems to
develop water resources potential. These problems will increase as the years go by. Afghanistan is one
of the world’s poorest countries, with an economy largely based on subsistence agriculture. Afghan
farmers depend on reliable, year-round sources of surface water and groundwater. Seasonal flows of
streams and rivers fed by melting snowpack high in Afghanistan’s mountains recharge alluvial
aquifers located in populated valleys and provide city dwellers with drinking water. The current
population of Afghanistan is about 31 million and it is projected to increase by nearly 80 percent by
the year 2050 to approximately 56 million. This will raise demand on the country’s already economic
stressed water resources. Almost all of the river basins are transboundary in the country. The Country
due to the political unrest has not participated in many of the agreements regulating water resources in
Central Asia. its current “non-player” and “outsider” status of the Central Asian Hydropolitics has to
be changed when starting water resources development. This could create an international dispute in
future regional water sharing discussions. In addition, recent research suggests that global climate
change could alter precipitation patterns in Afghanistan. In particular, both the amount and the timing
of snowfall received at higher elevations could change, impacting the major source of water for many
areas in Afghanistan. Development of Afghanistan’s most transboundary water resources is a vital
need for its own national interest, but it is also directly related with a transboundary water
management dispute issue in the region. In other words, Afghanistan should find the best way to
develop its transboundary water resources for national development as well as peace and stability of
the region. But this development won’t be so easy if current amount of water use of riparian states will
be same when Afghanistan plans to release smaller amount of water.
References
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