Hamoun Wetlands Drying Up After Taliban Built Dams, Says Iranian Official

The Director General of Bureau for the Conservation and Rehabilitation of Wetlands has said that the Taliban government has diverted the main water source of the Hamoun wetland.

Arezou Ashrafizadeh said that this wetland has been drying up due to the diversion of rivers and the construction of dams in Afghanistan.

In an interview with the Iranian Labour News Agency, Ashrafizadeh said that the Taliban government has diverted the course of the Helmand River to the Godzareh depression (a saline wetland) for the past three years and has prevented the water from reaching the Hamoun wetland in their natural course.

The official of Iran's Environment Organisation emphasised that the Taliban is also building the Bakhshabad dam on the Farah River, which will also be bad for the Hamoun wetland.

According to her, the Taliban government has implemented small and large water resources control projects on these rivers.

The official of the Environment Organisation of Iran emphasised that based on international law and customs related to the Hamoun wetland, the water needs of this ecosystem must be met and the natural and historical water supply route should be established.

Ashrafizadeh warned that the consequences of the drying up of the Hamoun wetland will affect countries on both sides of the border, and the dust from the dry bed of the wetland will also disturb the residents and infrastructure of Afghanistan.

Ashrafizadeh said that the organisation has asked the Taliban government and international communities to cooperate in the restoration of the Hamoun wetland.