The Bakhshabad Dam in Afghanistan and its Impacts on the Hamoun Wetlands
Publisher: IESS
Author(s): Sayedeh Zahra Qureshi
Date: 2025
Topics: Climate Change, Conflict Causes, Renewable Resources
Countries: Afghanistan, Iran
Humans' strong desire for development and their efforts to control and harness common resources with the aim of gaining power and securing political interests, as well as the integration of environmental issues with the history and national identity of societies, have led to the excessive use of natural resources, especially shared resources. Some argue that nature itself has a legal personality and has the right to act. This right, however, must be ensured in balance with social and economic interests. it is also necessary that the rights of the environment be pursued by legal entities. Currently, unfortunately, the Hamoun wetlands are victims of human development greed, and are on the brink of destruction.
The Hamoun wetlands are international shared wetlands between Iran and Afghanistan, parts of which are located in Iran and are registered under the Ramsar Convention of 1971. In 2016, they were also recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
The failure to provide the environmental water needs of the Hamoun wetlands has caused very serious problems, and it has also posed significant threats and damages to human security (as well as economic-social security) in the region. The reduction in the flow of the Helmand River water has also played a role in the environmental migrations from Sistan and the depopulation of this area. Thus, the economic, political, and environmental consequences of the reduced flow of the Helmand River water have been a factor in creating social changes in the Sistan region. Accordingly, addressing the issue of securing the environmental needs of the Hamoun wetlands is of utmost importance.
Evidence suggests that the completion of the Bakhshabad Dam on the Farah River, one of the main tributaries of the transboundary Helmand River shared between Iran and Afghanistan, has been a priority for Afghan authorities over various periods, especially under the Taliban regime. The Bakhshabad Dam’s reservoir capacity is 1.36 billion cubic meters (26 times larger than the Kamal Khan Dam), which could control 98% of the average annual flow of the Farah River, one of the primary sources for meeting the environmental needs of the Hamoun wetlands. This would mean the destruction of the Hamoun wetlands, and is the final blow to the already-depleted wetlands. Therefore, examining this dam and its environmental consequences, particularly for the Hamoun wetlands, is of great significance.