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Impact of the Qosh-Tepa canal in Afghanistan to the Downstream of the Amu Darya River Basin〇Temur KHUJANAZAROV, Yoshiya TOUGE, Kenji TANAKAThe Amu Darya River is crucial in providing water

the Aral Sea. It is why the Qosh-tepa canal construction

resources to riparian countries, including Afghanistan,will have significant if not severe impacts on theTurkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The water

region’s politics and economics.

resource sharing between upstream and downstream

The canal is funded by the public funding throughand tension over water use have always been high. The

governmental

agenciesofAfghanistan,afterwater distribution management was regulated onlycompletion it will provide enough irrigation water for

between former Soviet Union countries with Almaty

4 provinces 550000 ha (The Economist, 2023).

agreement (FAO, 1992) from 1992, as Afghanistan

Afghanistan plans to complete construction works

hasn’t had any significant resources to divert waters.

within 2-4 years till 2025 (The Diplomat, 2023). TheThe construction of a new canal in Afghanistan fromworks that began in summer 2022 have already2022 to as long as 285km, 100 meters length and 8

completed more than 100 km of the canal by the end ofmeters in depth has the potential to alter the dynamics

2023 through deserted area (fig. 2).

of water allocation in the region significantly andrequires all countries' cooperation on the Amu Darya
River and especially for the delta area of the Aral Sea.
The Amu Darya, which historically flowed to theAral Sea, now rarely supplies water into it, as most of
the water is distributed for irrigation between
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (fig. 1). Water diversion
for irrigation and other human activities has been
widely considered one of the main reasons for the Aral

Fig. 1. Aral Sea Basin. Qosh-tepa Canal is shown in red.

Sea shrinking; it has disrupted the natural hydrological

Adapted from Wikimedia

balance of the Aral Sea basin, causing various
environmental, social, and ecological impacts to theWater allocation in the complex of the Amu Darya

region. This has impacted not only the Aral Sea itself

River Basin should develop an assessment framework

but also all surrounding environments such as wetlandsthat will consider environmental, social, and economic

and lakes within the basins. According to the Interstate

dimensions. This research proposal investigates theCommission for Water Coordination of Central Asia

implications of additional water allocation to various(ICWC) in the last decades wetlands and lakes in theparts of the transboundary river Amu Darya, focusing

downstream areas have received only 30% of averageon the potential vulnerability of water resources fromwater flow. Canal construction will change previous

the canal's construction. In this report we consider

water allocation and accelerate desertification in thesatellite imaginary analysis and water requirements

downstream area that is expanding from the bottom of

from the model simulation for amount of irrigation

water requirements in the water balance.

resulting in extensive waterlogging and salinization of
the surrounding ecosystem and impacts to agricultural
productivity due to the accumulation of excess salts inthe soil and waterlogged conditions (FAO, 2007).
Establishing a robust framework to assess thevulnerability of regions affected by alterations in water
allocation, especially considering the reduction ofirrigationwaterfordownstream

countries,

isFig. 2. Current stage of the canal construction. The spill seen inimperative for implementing effective adaptation

the middle marked by red square. Source: Landsat 8-9

measures. This need is underscored by the significant(2024.01.20)

reliance of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan on irrigationwater for their GDP (Varis, 2014), highlighting theeconomic implications associated with changes inwater distribution.
Environmental factors, including ecosystem health,biodiversity, agriculture, livelihoods, and community
resilience should be integral components of theassessment. This inclusive evaluation aims to provide aFig. 3. Canal construction process. Source: Afghanistan PM fornuanced understanding of the multifaceted impacts for

economic affairs promotion video

the adaptive strategies.

The rapid pace of the canal construction has raised
concerns,

particularlyregarding

water-saving

Reference

precautions. Evaluating the construction quality of the

1. FAO, FAOLEX database. Retrieved 22 January

canal gives rise to substantial concerns, as evident from2024.www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-

available materials and satellite imagery (fig. 2, 3). The

FAOC054529/

construction on such a rapid pace is notably

2. "The Taliban are digging an enormous canal". The

rudimentary, characterized by a simplistic "digging"

Economist. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 22 January

method without adequate reinforcement or lining for2024.

the canal's bed and embankments. This approachtaliban-are-digging-an-enormous-canal.

www.economist.com/asia/2023/02/16/the-presents a significant hazard, as there is a considerable

3. “The Taliban new canal threatens water security inrisk of water seepage into the arid, sandy soil, leading

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan”. The Diplomat.com,

to substantial water losses. Such losses further intensify

July

existing challenges of salinization and waterlogging intalibans-new-canal-threatens-watersecurity-in-

irrigated areas, significantly heightening the peril ofuzbekistan-and-turkmenistan/water loss. This situation is reminiscent of the earlier

05,

2023,

thediplomat.com/2023/07/the-

4. Varis, O. Resources: Curb vast water use in central

development of the Karakum Canal, a project initiatedAsia.

in 1980 in Turkmenistan and finalized in the 1990s.

https://doi.org/10.1038/514027a Varis, O. Resources:Evaluations

Curb vast water use in central Asia. Nature 514, 27–suggest

thatlosses

amountedtoapproximately from 18% up to 30% of the total flow,

Nature514,

27–29

29 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/514027a(2014).