Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority

History

The HAVA was created to manage the economic development of the Helmand and Arghandab valleys, primarily through irrigation and agricultural land development along the Helmand River and the Arghandab River, in a plan which was forecast to be of primary importance to the future economy of Afghanistan. and was a major source of foreign exchange through exports. The area of agricultural land under irrigation more than halved between 1979 and 2002 to around 1500000 ha, although this has since been increased.

The project received major loans from the Export–Import Bank of the United States and, although around 20% of all Afghan Government expenditure went into funding the HVA and HAVA during the 1950s and into the 1960s, it was generally seen as a US-led project. It resulted, in the words of historian Arnold J. Toynbee in "a piece of America inserted into the Afghan Landscape. ... The new world they are conjuring up out of the desert at the Helmand River's expense is to be an America-in-Asia."

2000s

In 2005, it was reported that, following a United States Agency for International Development funded project to build six reservoirs in Lashkar Gah, the HAVA would manage the provision of fresh water connections to the city's residents and the collection of the associated fees to keep the system maintained. The city had been without fresh water for the previous 30 years due to the contamination of the Helmand River.

During the Helmand province campaign, the Operation Tethys initiative by the British Royal Engineers 170 (Infrastructure Support) Group led to repairs being carried out to the HAVA's irrigation systems between 2010 and 2012 at 30 sites.

During 2011, it was reported that work was being started on a Helmand River Basin Study and Master Plan (HRBMP) to rebuild the capacity of the HAVA with funding from the British Department for International Development.

Present day

Today, the irrigation system managed by the HAVA is regarded as one of the country's most important capital resources and vital for maintaining and expanding agricultural production in the region.

As of March 2012, its director is Haji Khan Agha.

Development

The development of the Helmand Valley was initiated by the Government of Afghanistan in 1946.

Government involvement

The US Government was officially involved in the project from 1949 until the Soviet invasion in 1979. From 1960, the Agency for International Development and its predecessor, the Technical Cooperation Agency, spent $80 million assisting with 25 projects and the HAVA became a showcase for the US foreign aid program.

The earliest initiatives to build a modern irrigation system in the region began in 1935, with financial support from the Japanese Government though until World War II. The German Government had also provided assistance.

Areas irrigated by the HAVA

In Helmand Province, the areas of Nad Ali, Marja, Shamalon, Darweshan, Khanishin, Seraj, Girishk, Sanguin-Kajakai, Musa Qala and Nowzad are all irrigated by the HAVA, as are the areas of Maiwand, Dund-Daman, Arghandab and Panjwayi in Kandahar Province.

Issues

While the development of the Helmand valley resulted in considerable gains in agricultural production and raised average farm incomes tenfold, there have also been problems.

Irrigation of the area has also significantly reduced the water flowing from the Helmand River into Lake Hamun and this, together with drought, has been cited as a key reason for the severe damage to the ecology of the lake region, much of which has degenerated since 1999 from a wetland of international importance into salt flats.

References

References

1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130408130704/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA518306 (pdf) The Helmand Valley Project in Afghanistan: A.I.D. Evaluation Special Study No. 18] C Clapp-Wicek & E Baldwin, [[United States Agency for International Development]], published December 1983
2. [https://archive.today/20121129092011/http://184.73.243.18:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/1803?show=full Report on Development of Helmand Valley, Afghanistan, 1956], Tudor Engineering Company
3. (September 2002). "Damming Afghanistan: Modernization in a Buffer State". [[Journal of American History]].
4. Curtis, Adam. (13 October 2009). "Kabul: City Number One - Part 3".
5. [http://scottshelmandvalleyarchives.org/docs/cph-08-02.pdf Reconstruction And Opium Poppy Cultivation in Central Helmand: The Need For An Integrated Program] Richard B. Scott, Conference on Afghanistan Reconstruction, [[University of Nebraska Omaha. University of Nebraska at Omaha]], published 2008-10-03
6. [http://www2.adb.org/documents/rrps/afg/7029-afg-rrp.pdf Report and Recommendation of the President to the Board of Directors on the Proposed Loan and Technical Assistance to the Republic of Afghanistan for the Kajakai Gales Project in Afghanistan]{{Dead link. (January 2020)
7. (1997). "Afghanistan irrigation system assessment using remote sensing". AIP Conf. Proc..
8. "Geology, Water, and Wind in the Lower Helmand Basin, Southern Afghanistan". [[United States Geological Survey]].
9. King and Sturtewagen, Matthew and Benjamin. "Making the Most of Afghanistan’s River Basins -- Opportunities for Regional Cooperation".
10. (28 Feb 2005). "USAID Field Report Afghanistan Feb 2005". [[United States Agency for International Development]].
11. Geoscientist]] 21.06 July 2011
12. (18 March 2012). "Troops help to eliminate Afghan poppies".
13. [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmdfence/554/554we02.htm House of Commons - Defence Committee - Written Evidence] prepared 2011-07-17
14. [http://www.stabilisationunit.gov.uk/attachments/article/520/Stabilisation%20Case%20Study%20-%20Infrastructure%20in%20Helmand,%20Afghanistan.pdf Stabilisation Case Study: Infrastructure in Helmand, Afghanistan (Experiences from Helmand 2008-2010)] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-10-30 [[Department for International Development]])
15. (1998). "Remote sensing change detection of irrigated agriculture in Afghanistan". [[Geocarto International]].
16. [http://publicpolicypress.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/helmand-cn-provincial-plan-2009.pdf Helmand Annual Review 2010] {{Webarchive. link. (2015-05-24 Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team, Regional Command (South West) and the Regional Platform (South West), published 2011-03-12)
17. Shively, L.A.. (2012-03-01). "Summit on water conservation brings Afghan provincial leadership to the table".
18. Between 1949 and 1971, the US financed eight dams on the Helmand River.Introduction to Geographical Hydrology: Spatial Aspects of the Interactions Between Water Occurrence and Human Activity, Richard Chorley (editor), [[Taylor & Francis]], {{ISBN. 9780416688306, published 1971
19. Weier, John. (13 December 2002). "From Wetland to Wasteland; Destruction of the Hamoun Oasis". [[NASA Earth Observatory]].