Distance Learning Module 17 - International Water Information Sharing & Construction of Upstream International Partnerships with DownstreamWater Desires
Information Sharing
- International water management requires access to the best new data and information available.
- Such information can be developed by classical field measurement of precipitation, river flow volumes, and such, which are best done by local personnel.
- Measurement of precipitation, snow-water equivalent, river flow, soil moisture, and other measures of weather and climate, and water availability can be obtained with satellite remote sensing.
- Maintenance of robust records of water flows is essential to good water management, especially in times of unforeseen climate change.
- The Transboundary Water Website maintained by the University of Nebraska at Omaha is the best site available to store hydrological water data at no charge to the permitted officials of the governments of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan.
Upstream Partnerships Dealing With Downstream Water Desires
- Upstream countries of Afghanistan and Tajikistan can derive an effective water-use partnership based on similar physical environments, similar cultural and religious attributes.
- Afghanistan and Tajikistan share similar needs as upstream nations in need of greater development to measure, assess, protect, and manage joint water supplies.
- Afghanistan and Tajikistan can present a united water-management front to downstream recipient nations of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan who host the declining Aral Sea.
- Afghanistan and Tajikistan may want to partner with the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) and Daughtery Water for Food Institute to develop best water management plans for their upland regions.
- Afghanistan and Pakistan can effectively partner over hydrological development (dams, irrigation, hydroelectricity) of Chitral – Kunar – Kabul River system as a shared water resource.
- Afghanistan and Pakistan can effectively share water volume measures to monitor flood hazards of Kabul River system, in spite of strong militant Pashtun and Taliban pressures against.