Water, Peace, and Security for All: The Potential for Peacebuilding in Afghanistan’s Hydropolitics
Publisher: Heinrich Böll Stiftung - Afghanistan
Author(s): Najib Fahim
Date: 2016
Topics: Governance, Renewable Resources
Countries: Afghanistan
In terms of having water resources, Afghanistan has a considerable advantage in comparison to its neighbors. However, war and other various factors have limited the country’s ability to make use of these resources. Water infrastructure—including dams, water storage tanks, irrigation and water supply networks, hydrometric stations and metrology systems, and sewage and sanitation systems—is limited and inefficient. According to a 2008 census, out of approximately 8 million hectares of arable land, only 1.8 million hectares are cultivated, and forest cover is 3%.