نقش اجرايي رژيم حقوقي رودخانه هيرمند در تعديل خشكسالي سيستان

The role of Hirmand Riverʹs legal regime in mitigating drought in Sistan

In the recent decade, in particular in the last years of the 20th century, the challenge of fresh water shortage emerged as a global crisis, and as a very critical theme for international debates. Many countries relay on border rivers to partial supply of their water demands. In Iran, water of such sources does not posses a significant share of the total water supply at national level. At provincial level, however, there are some regions where transboundary water plays a critical role. Being one of such provinces, Sistan faces severe damages to agriculture and other vital activities whenever Hirmand River flow declines. The average annual discharge of Hirmand River is about 4.6 billion cubic meters. There are also other rivers from Afghanistan contributing an additional volume of 2.8 billion cubic meters to Hamoon international wetland. This is while the total contribution of domestic rivers rarely exceeds 0.6 billion cubic meters. The probable diversion of Hirmand Riverʹs flow to "Goode Zereh," a region in western Afghanistan, without allocating a share to Iran has raised concerns about water management in the region, particularly for Hamoon wetland. The legal regime of Hirmand River has been a major political issue over the last century. Both Iran and Afghanistan recognize the riverʹs middle bed as their international border. Debates remain, however, on water sharing, utilization in delta zone and other rights on the river.