BY: Prof. M.Naim Eqrar BY: Prof. M.Naim Eqrar Dean of Geosciences Faculty Dean of Geosciences Faculty University of Kabul University of Kabul Sept Sept.-2012

Contents

Annual precipitation of Afghanistan in(1975) Snow cover area before 1990 in Afghanistan Snow cover area (2009) Snow cover (2010 )

Afghanistan Water Resources Five river basins in Afghanistan 57 billion cubic meters surface water (ANDS) 18 billion cubic meter groundwater

Qaraqrum Desert (Turkmenistan), Indian ocean Sistan depression Turkistan plain Aral Sea

Uneven distribution Afghanistan could have enough water at country level to ensure all the water needs of its population, but this resource is unevenly distributed between and within its 5 River Basins

Mismatch between water availability and irrigated land distribution Water resource availability in Afghanistan is also not ideally distributed when put in perspective with irrigated land distribution.

Falkenmark water stress indicator shows that Afghanistan is a mid stress at the national level but one river basin below stress threshold Source: Calculassions based on Favre & Kamal (2004). There is 2,775 cubic meter/capita/year. This figure include the amount of water which needs to be shared with the neighboring countries.

افزایش درجه حرارت افغانستان الی سال 2100 تغیربارنده گی ها در افغانستان ا الی سال 2100 مشاهده مینمایید

Future Scarcity: By 2050, Afghanistan water availability per capita will have reduced by 50%

Main natural Hazards in Afghanistan Source: EM-DAT. The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels.

12 Drought

Protected Water Accessiblity

Desert of Nawoor,Ghazni city,1977,7500 hectares Climate affect on Ghazni lake km2,2001 Qargha lake dryness-2006 Climate change affect in Kabul basin Kol-i- Hashmat khan (Natural wetland) on Oct.2006

Water table decreased severely during the 2004 drought. Source : MRRD, 2004.

Drivers of future scarcity Kabul is already in a situation of overexploitation of its groundwater resource. The WSS is more optimistic and estimates that supply can only cope with an increased demand till 2012, based on a consumption of only 40 l/capita/day BGR, 2005.

Historical number of major flood events in each month for all of Afghanistan. * Data obtained from The Flood Observatory,

Afghanistan is among the most vulnerable countries with regards to floods.So Who are the most vulnerable? Source: UNEP/GRID Geneva as quoted in ICIMOD presentation – Kabul – May 2008.

Water Infrastructure Low storage capacity not compare with neighboring countries the lack of maintenance during 25 years of conflicts combined with a high siltation rate (partly due to land degradation in upper catchments) has highly impacted the actual storage capacity, which is likely to be below 100 m 3 /capita

Afghan future Perspective Increased amount of water induced hazards Increased flash floods limited fresh water availability, Soil degradation overgrazing deforestation desertification air and water pollution Increased temperature Decreasing amount of snow and ice (Glaciers and permafrost) More prolonged droughts Landslides Increased precipitation (Rain) Longer wet season Drier dry season More high intense rainfall events

Summary and Recommendations  About 16.8 million Afghans drink unsafe water.  Inadequate access to improved toilets and waste disposal for 23 million people.  Increasing population growth rates, placing pressures on the availability of water resources per capita.  Droughts and floods, causing direct death, injury, and property destruction, food availability, and income opportunities.  National disputes and international tension over water resources with potential for further escalation.  Environmental degradation exacerbating water demand and supply for human and livestock use

Recommendations  The international community has a duty to assist in such process on the problem of cross transboundary water.  Large scale storage/dams on rivers The specific challenges Afghanistan is facing with its riparian’s countries on transboundary water.  Capitalize on climate change support funds  Small-scale water harvesting and conservation, watershed and rangeland management  Environmental degradation exacerbating water demand and supply for human and livestock use

Thank you