The Amu Darya River Basin and the Development of Irrigated Agriculture in Northern Afghanistan

Abstract

The article is devoted to the issues of construction by the interim government of the Taliban of hydraulic structures in the northern regions of Afghanistan. In particular, it describes the progress of work on the Qoshteppa project, which is the most discussed in expert circles and at the level of governments of some countries in Central Asia, and which is capable of influencing the water regime of the Amu Darya under conditions of growing scarcity of hydro resources. A brief background of the Afghan state plans for the development of irrigated agriculture based on the waters of this transboundary river, the reasons for delaying their implementation, the prospects for the development of relations with neighboring countries on the joint use of water resources, technical specifications of the planned facilities, information on demography and the ratio of irrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Afghan northern provinces, as well as other projects under implementation, the likelihood of their realization, the impact of future facilities of the Amu Darya and other projects on the development of the national agrarian sector and the economic life of the Northern Afghanistan population in the process of implementation.