Document Type : Article
Authors
1 Assistant professor, Law Department, Faculty of Humanities, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Human Rights and Environmental Law Department, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Multiple development projects in Afghanistan, by blocking and diverting the flow of rivers in the Helmand River basin, have led to the drying of the Hamoun wetlands and the disregard of their environmental water rights. The concept of environmental water rights has not been explicitly addressed in binding bilateral or multilateral treaties between Iran and Afghanistan. This study seeks to answer the question: How do the principles and rules of international law obligate the Afghan government to ensure the environmental water rights of the Hamoun wetlands? The research hypothesis is that, with the expansion of ecosystem-based approaches in water resource management and the development of international environmental law, both treaty-based and customary principles impose obligations on states to maintain the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems. The results of the authors’ descriptive-analytical study, based on library research, indicate that the “allocated water rights” defined in the Helmand River Treaty do not encompass the concept of environmental water rights. Moreover, there are no bilateral treaties between Iran and Afghanistan governing other rivers in the Helmand River basin. Nevertheless, other binding treaty and customary principles between the parties—such as the principle of equitable and reasonable use, the prohibition of significant transboundary harm, and the obligations of prevention and due diligence—imply the necessity of ensuring environmental water rights to preserve and restore the Hamoun wetlands.
Keywords
Main Subjects
English
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