Afghanistan: Afghanistan's Untapped Water Potential

Jul 27, 2018 | Gauri Noolkar-Oak and Aditya Manubarwala, Modern Diplomacy
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Squeezed between the erstwhile USSR and the United States’ strategic backyard Pakistan, Afghanistan has been used as tool employed by all of these powers to further their own strategic interests. The result has been years of brutal conflict, turmoil and instability, which have taken their toll on the society, economy and environment of the country. Till date, Afghanistan still remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

As the country struggles to shed the violence and instability and transition into a peaceful and prosperous nation, it has given special attention to its water resources, especially in terms of agriculture – the agricultural sector contributed 30% of Afghanistan’s GDP in 2010, and accounted for 98% of Afghanistan’s total water withdrawals.The Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) for 2008-2013 has explicitly linked the country’s economic growth and food security to agricultural growth and the government recognises “quick rehabilitation” and expansion of existing irrigation networks as a priority.