Online Public Lecture: "Food Security and Transborder Water Governance: Case Study of the Qush Tepa Irrigation Canal, Afghanistan"

Abstract
Built in northern Afghanistan by diverting water from the Amu Darya, the Qush Tepa Irrigation Canal is converting approximately 550,000 hectares of desert into farmland, significantly contributing to addressing the country's urgent food security issues. Initially conceived by Daud Khan's government in 1973, the canal remained unrealized until the Taliban came to power, at which point it became a priority project starting in 2022. Because the canal will reduce the annual water supply to downstream countries by approximately 6.5 billion cubic meters, it has raised significant concerns among countries such Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Based on recently completed research, the lecture examines the canal's potential impact on increasing agricultural productivity, the management challenges associated with the canal, and the possibilities for regional cooperation.

About the speaker:

Jalal Naser Faqiryar researches water issues in Afghanistan and Central Asia at the Delft Institute for Water Education, the Netherlands. He had extensive experience managing large-scale water projects as Director General of the Kabul River Basin Authority and Head of the Palaces and Kabul River Project at the National Development Corporation under the Office of the President of Afghanistan. He also held senior positions in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock related to irrigation and natural resources projects. He has a master’s in engineering in water management from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, and master's degrees from Oregon State University, the UN's University of Peace in Costa Rica, and the Delft Institute for Water Education. He is the author of Food-Climate Nexus in the North River Basin of Afghanistan: A Case Study of Qush Tepa National Irrigation Canal. – Rumi Organization for Research.

Moderator: Dr Bohdan Krawchenko
Director of Afghanistan Research Initiative,
Senior Research Fellow, Graduate School of Development,
University of Central Asia

Format: Online
Language: English
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85781850602?pwd=RbRMUrzTTjVu3itFCsAEUdCcY7uwFV.1

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