Table 1
Primary causes and effects of watershed related damage and water misuse in rural Afghanistan
| Challenge | Primary Cause | Locations | Direct consequences |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rangeland degradation | Fuel wood collection, poor grazing management, conversion to cropland | Extensive across the rural landscape | Reduced fuel and grazing resource availability, reduced watershed buffering, siltation of karez and canal systems |
| Flash flooding | Range degradation | Riverine areas | Loss of arable land, soil erosion, destroyed canal intakes, siltation of canals |
| Karez/canal deterioration | Deferred maintenance in karezes/canals and siltation from uplands | Upstream from irrigated lands | Significant water loss, lack of or inconsistent water flows in karezes/canals, loss of agricultural capacity |
| Inefficient water use | Inappropriate farming practices including; mismatched crop needs with water availability due to poor irrigator understanding of crop-water scheduling, excessive irrigation during times of water sufficiency and under-irrigation during times of water insufficiency, pooling of water in low areas of fields resulting from improper water drainage. Poor capacity or coverage of agricultural support services | Throughout irrigated landscapes | Reduced crop yield and quality, soil compaction, erosion, and increased soil salinity |
Table 2
Land ownership conditions and locally-based institutional strategies to address watershed health issues
| Ownership | Primary example | Challenges | Locally-based institutional strategies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private | Irrigated land, farmer owned or sharecropped | Decayed physical infrastructure and limited farmer capacity to increase productivity | Village level dispute resolution, training water masters and extension agents to improve farming techniques |
| Community land | Irrigation systems, watersheds, riverbanks | Decayed infrastructure, degraded watersheds, silted karezes | Community natural resource management councils addressing forest range and water resources |
| Government land | Wasteland, but also including some rough grazing lands | De facto open access land, baseless land claims in the face of projects that add value to lands | Strengthen capacity of communities to manage and defend nearby lands critical to their welfare |
| Open access | Forests and rangeland | Degradation of watershed values through timber, fuel wood and range exploitation | Strengthen harbekai and other local protective institutions |