Sustainable irrigation: Karez system in Afghanistan

Abdullah Azami^1*, Jay Sagin^{2, 3}, Sayed Hashmat Sadat¹, Hejratullah Hejran⁴

¹ Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan

² Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, USA

³ Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

⁴ Kazakh-German University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

^*Corresponding author: abdullah.azami123@gmail.com

Jay Sagin: zhanay.sagintayev@nu.edu.kz; Sayed Hashmat Sadat: sadat8208@gmail.com; Hejratullah Hejran: hejratullah73@gmail.com.

December 08, 2020

Research Article

Abstract

In Afghanistan, water is mostly used for agricultural purposes. The water supply chain requires updating to ensure its sustainability. Different irrigation methods – such as surface water based irrigation (via canals), groundwater based irrigation, and the Karez irrigation system – are applied across the country. Considering the compatibility of the Karez system with the environment, it can be deemed the most effective irrigation scheme, as it allows collecting a significant amount of groundwater and conveying it to land surface via sub-horizontal tunnels using gravity. This article analyzes Afghanistan’s Karez irrigation systems currently feeding water to over 170,000 ha of farmland with a potential to expand and become a component of sustainable water supply chain.

For citation: Azami, A., Sagin, J., Sadat, S. H., & Hejran, H. (2020). Sustainable Irrigation: Karez System in Afghanistan. Central Asian Journal of Water Research, 6(2), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.29258/cajwr/2020-r1.v6-2/1-18.eng

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