Sustainability of Water Resources in Afghanistan

Abstract

Water is a precious natural resource because it plays a significant role in maintaining human health; fulfilling the human food requirements and boosting industrial development and above all, keeping the natural heritages and beauties. An ever-increasing world population imposes quantitative pressure on water resources from one side (for provision of safe drinking water, agricultural and industrial needs). While from the other side, the quality of this natural resource is becoming deteriorated by the uncontrolled amounts of residential wastes generated by humans, discharges from agricultural fields and effluents of industrial plants. Ignorance of these realities not only confines the present human environment but also puts the future creatures to undesirable consequences. Therefore, it is crucial to deal with the issues challenging sustainable water resource management and globally embark on sound and constructive strategies to overcome these catastrophes. Among these strategies, raising public awareness on efficient water usage, natural resources preservation and a shift to renewable water sources needs to be prioritized. On the local scale, the water resources in Afghanistan have encountered significant and irreversible negative consequences because of the past two and half decades of armed conflict. There are numerous confrontations to be dealt with here, sustainable management of water resources as the most important one. The raising of qualified human resources can strengthen this. It is also the moral responsibility of countries not to benefit from the present inabilities of their neighbors and build their infrastructure by utilizing others resources including water rights.