Where is helmand river

Except in the three spring months, there is not enough water for heavy boats to navigate Gazeteer of Afghanistan II, pp. The Helmand median annual water output is 2, million cubic meters and, although it runs its course mainly through Afghanistan, its most irrigable banks lie in Persia. Moreover, the silt laden Helmand can, if left unfettered, flow in various directions, and its history reveals that it can make sudden changes in its course and divert waters into new channels McMahon, p.

However, despite the fact that the Helmand and its environs are naturally in flux, the late 19th and 20th centuries have witnessed a number of colonial and national schemes, including boundary commissions and large-scale irrigation projects, that have linked attempts to domesticate a wild river with the demarcation of the Afghanistan-Iran border see iv. As Table 1 shows, the water flow of Helmand River has drastically declined from With declining precipitation, the snowfields that supply the headwaters of the Helmand shrank from 41 km2 to 26 km2 between and Iran I, Cambridge, , pp.

Most of the water from its major river basins such as the Amu, Helmand, Harirud-Murghab and Kabul flows to neighbouring countries — Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Lack of water infrastructure as well as the effects of climate change on agricultural output have had a role in forcing many farmers to move to urban centres to secure their livelihoods.

At the same time, Afghanistan imports electricity from some of its neighbouring countries, including Iran. On some of its major rivers, including the Helmand River, which flows into Iran, the Afghan government has started to invest in construction of new dams.

The Helmand River has been at the centre of a growing dispute between Afghanistan and Iran over water rights and the construction of the Kamal Khan dam.

The Iranian government argues that dam construction on the Helmand will cause environmental damage, mainly in its water-stressed south-eastern region bordering Afghanistan. On the other hand, the Afghan government argues that its construction of dams is to ensure water security in consideration of the water treaty with Iran.

Since the signing of that treaty, Afghanistan has fallen into decades of conflict and has been unable to oversee its successful implementation. Moreover, communication between the two countries, especially in recent years, has become highly polarised over water rights, despite the treaty.

The countries should establish a mechanism for an open and active communication towards the necessary cooperation over water. Iran insists that restricting water flow on the Helmand River would cause further drying up of the transboundary Hamoun Wetlands.

The flow and distribution of water in the river has been indicated in the treaty on a monthly basis, and usually the river has low discharge in autumn.

In these meetings, both parties were committed to taking measures, including, a new mapping of the Helmand catchment, maintaining the safety of surveying engineers as well as granting water rights of the border river.

On Tuesday, joint cooperation will begin for mapping in order to locate three water intake sites around the Helmand River in Iran, Mohammad Delmoradi, Sistan and Baluchestan regional water director said. Helmand water right to be provided after year pursuit Society. Joint cooperation to preserve Helmand River In order to draft the statute, meetings were held for two days in Zabul with the presence of two delegations consisting of officials from the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with their Afghan counterparts.