Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - Enhanced Integrated Framework ...

Water ResourcesAgriculture accounts for 95 percent of waterconsumption. In the 1970s, some 3.3 millionhectares were cultivated using various irrigationmethods. However, because of civil conflictand drought, at present only about 1.8 millionhectares of land are being irrigated. Ofthis, only ten percent is being irrigated usingproperly engineered systems with the remainderdependent on traditional irrigation methods,some of these based on run-offs from oruse of aquifers that are being degraded by deepwater wells and insufficient investment in rechargebasins. Significant donor funded investmenthas gone into rehabilitating damagedor degraded irrigation systems, but little hasbeen done in terms of making new investmentsthe structures needed to increase efficiency inwater use. There is a lack of resources neededto improve water management, including alack of skilled human resources. Informationsystems are now being reconstituted, but thereis a lack of reliable hydrological, meteorological,geo-technical and water quality data. Theinfrastructure and equipment needed to efficientlyconserve and utilize water resources isinsufficient. There are limited data on groundwater resources and information indicatingthat un-regulated deep well drilling may bedepleting aquifers that are essential to watersupplies and traditional irrigation systems (Karezesand springs). There is a lack of economicmechanisms regulating water use and investmentsfor water supply, sanitary systems, irrigation,and hydropower generation.The efficient management of Afghanistan’s waterresources is essential for social and economicdevelopment and is an area where thereis a great need for public sector involvement.Both government and donor efforts have under-investedin better water resource managementthat will have a major impact on the productivecapacity of the economy and the livesof the people. Within the water resources sector,feasibility studies will be completed andinvestments will be made in the needed storagefacilities, recharge basins, multi-purpose dams,irrigation systems required to improve watersector management for both agricultural andnon-agricultural uses. These efforts will augmenton-going efforts to rehabilitate and improvemanagement in existing systems. Overtime there will be a movement away from aproject by project focus on rehabilitation to anIntegrated Water Resource Management(IWRM) system geared to the five major riverbasins in the country, with an eventual devolutionof responsibilities down to independentRiver Basin authorities.TransportThe ANDS strategic goal for the transport sectoris to have a safe, integrated transportationnetwork that ensures connectivity and that enableslow-cost and reliable movement of peopleand goods domestically as well as to and fromforeign destinations. The strategy will contributeto achieving the following targets establishedin the Afghanistan Compact. (i) Afghanistanwill have a fully upgraded andmaintained ring road, as well as roads connectingthe ring road to neighboring countries byend-2008 and a fiscally sustainable system forroad maintenance by end-2007; (ii) By end-2010, Kabul International Airport and HeratAirport will achieve full International CivilAviation Organization compliance; Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad and Kandahar will be upgradedwith runway repairs, air navigation,fire and rescue and communications equipment;seven other domestic airports will beupgraded to facilitate domestic air transportation;and air transport services and costs will beincreasingly competitive with internationalmarket standards and rates; and (iii) By end-2010 Afghanistan and its neighbors willachieve lower transit times through Afghanistanby means of cooperative border managementand other multilateral or bilateral tradeand transit agreements.The Government continues to give high priorityto rehabilitate a badly damaged road system.This includes: (i) completion of a fullyupgraded and maintained ring road and connectorroads to neighboring countries, (ii) improving5,334 km of secondary (national andprovincial) roads and (iii) improving andbuilding 6,290 km of rural access roads as a keyto raising rural livelihoods and reducing povertyand vulnerability in rural areas. Betterrural roads will improve market access andopportunities for rural households. The actualallocation of resources amongst these three areasof planned activity will depend on the estimatedrates of return from analysis of proposalsput forward for funding by the internationalcommunity or by the ministries involvedin implementing the transport sector strategies.The ANDS: An Overview 9