A legal licence for an ecological disaster: the inadequacies of the 1973 Helmand/Hirmand water treaty for sustainable transboundary water resources development

摘要

This article questions whether the 1973 Helmand/Hirmand water treaty between Afghanistan and Iran is an appropriate institutional tool for sustainable water resources management in the context of transboundary water resources development. It shows that by failing to fulfil the most basic requisites for integrated water resources management and river basin management, the treaty does not ensure the integrity of the downstream agro-ecological system in the Sistan Delta. As a result, the 1973 treaty may not be the most relevant water regime for helping to balance legitimate development in upstream Afghanistan while also limiting harms to downstream Iran.