TEHRAN –The administration of President Ebrahim Raisi is decisively looking for a solution to the dispute with Afghan officials on the water right of Hamoun wetland and has held several meetings in this regard.

Considering the importance of the issue, environmental officials of Afghanistan are to pay a visit to Iran to make necessary decisions.

The Hamouns are transboundary wetlands on the Iran-Afghan border made up of three lakes: Hamoun-e Helmand, which is entirely in Iran, Hamoun-e Sabari on the border, and Hamoun-e Puzak, almost entirely inside Afghanistan. The three lakes are linked and fed by water from the Helmand River which starts in the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan.

Hamoun International Wetland is considered one of the most important habitats of aquatic and terrestrial migratory birds and has been a shelter for many rare and endangered species for years.

Some 3,820 out of 5,660 square kilometers of the wetland is in Sistan-Baluchestan Iran and the rest is in Afghanistan.

In the not-too-distant past, it was the third largest lake in the country, but now the dried wetland is turning into a source of dust affecting people in the province.

Based on the 1972 Helmand treaty, Iran has secured a commitment from Afghanistan to supply them with an average of 22 cubic meters per second (m3/sec) during normal or above-normal water years. For friendly relations, an additional 4 m3/sec is also promised to be provided. These allocations add up to approximately 820 Mm3 per year.

But in the last two decades, once fertile wetlands have drastically dried up. The Taliban government closed the sluices to the Kajaki Dam on the Helmand until 2002, which aggravated the impact of the worst drought the region has experienced in many decades, brought about partially by climate change and warming temperatures.

The locals’ livelihood is greatly dependent on the wetland which has been fed by the Helmand River for millions of years. The water from the river is used for drinking and agriculture. It is also a source of income for fishermen.

Of course, the administration has taken measures to overcome the problem and is seriously following up on the issue. For this purpose, they have had several meetings with the Afghan officials.

Accordingly, it was decided to form a joint working group of Iranian and Afghan officials to implement projects such as Hamoun’s right from Helmand water and management of dust centers.

Due to the importance of the issue, President Raisi has repeatedly stressed that Iran will act without compromise in upholding the rights of the people of Sistan-Baluchestan. In this regard, he appointed First Vice-President Mohammad Mokhbar to investigate and solve people’s problems in supplying energy, and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to consult with the Afghan government to follow up on Iran's right from the Helmand River.

Visiting Samarkand, Amir-Abdollahian participated in the meeting of foreign ministers of neighboring countries. During the meeting, Iran's commitment was emphasized and Amir Khan Mottaqi announced Afghanistan’s commitment to Iran’s water right.

Moreover, the head of the Department of Environment (DOE), Ali Salajeqeh, in a meeting held on the dust pollution in Sistan-Baluchestan, said Hamoun water right is one of the government’s top priorities, and the project to release water into Hamoun wetland is on the agenda. The people in Sistan-Baluchestan should not be concerned about the supply of drinking water because the government will not allow the people to face such difficulties.

Immediately, the pursuit of the water right of the wetland from the Afghan side was put on the agenda of the DOE. Hence, Salajeqeh met Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs of the Taliban, who had traveled to Iran for economic negotiations.

Talking about the outcome of the meeting, Salajeqeh stated that Afghans claimed to acknowledge Iran’s rights and consider themselves obligated to allocate water, but they have announced that there is no water behind the dam and everything depends on the amount of rainfall.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Naser Kanaani, in his latest statement about Hamoun wetland on February 5, said that the Afghan authorities are expected to fulfill their obligations in securing the wetland’s water right.

On the occasion of International Wetland Day which was held on February 3, Salajeqeh said many international institutions are affected by political issues. “If they adhere to their commitments and covenants, they should not act based on political bases.”

Stating that the Islamic Republic is a member of 15 conventions and 54 international protocols, he complained that the international institutions have failed to shoulder their responsibilities. He added the international community is committed to fulfilling its duties regarding environmental issues, but due to sanctions, they avoid that.

Hamoun Wetland, once a huge body of water, has turned into a dried bed merely because its water right has been denied by the neighboring country, and surprisingly, the international institutions have preferred to remain silent in this regard.

To rehabilitate the wetland, Iran concluded a contract with the European Union to empower the local community, achieve sustainable livelihood, and provide environmental education, but they refrained from upholding their commitment because of the sanctions.

An Afghan delegation is also going to visit Iran to discuss issues related to Hamoun Wetland and its water right more seriously in the near future.

For the time being, it is hoped that the amount of precipitation increases and with the cooperation of the neighboring country the water reaches Hamoun so that the condition of the wetland improves to some extent.

MT/MG