Qosh Tepa Canal

The Qosh Tepa Canal, also called the Qush Tepa Canal, (د قوشتپې کنال; ; Qoʻshtepa kanali) is a canal being built in northern Afghanistan to divert water from the Amu Darya. The main canal is expected to be 285 km long and the overall initiative seeks to convert 550,000 hectares of desert into farmland. The Qosh Tepa Canal begins in Balkh Province and is expected to end in Faryab while passing through Jowzjan.

The Taliban-run government of Afghanistan has made the canal a priority project and the construction begun in early 2022. Images supplied by Planet Labs showed that from April 2022 to February 2023 more than 100 km of the canal had been excavated. The first phase of the project was completed in October 2023, with the second phase immediately commencing.

Independent experts and engineers have expressed skepticism and concern about the project, stating that the Afghan government does not possess the know-how to effectively complete the canal. In particular, they have noted that there is a lack of oversight with "rudimentary" construction methods being employed. In December 2023, it was reported that the canal had experienced a major breach, with satellite images showing a large body of water forming near the place where the embankment had collapsed.

Water use regime on the Amu River
A formal regime to divide the Amu's waters among the four ex-USSR republics of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan was made during the Soviet period. Being internal to the USSR, these agreements did not reflect Afghanistan's interests. When construction of the canal began in 2022, Afghanistan was still not a party to any regional or international treaty on using transboundary river waters. As such, no pre-arranged dispute resolution procedures were in place to address the other Amu River basin countries concerns. The Afghan government argued that Afghanistan has a generic right to use the waters of Amu River, irrespective of a formal agreement being in place.

International reaction
Uzbekistan, the main down-river country potentially affected, has expressed concern that the canal will have an adverse effect on its agriculture. In 2023 Uzbek officials held talks with the Taliban on the matter, though no official agreements were reached.

Environmental concerns
Environmental experts have raised concern that the Qosh Tepa Canal will make the Aral Sea situation worse by diverting even more water from Amu River. A detailed analysis of the project by the independent CABAR.asia analytical publication found that construction methods employed appeared "rudimentary" and concluded the likelihood of water losses in the canal was high.

2023 breach reports
In December 2023, it was reported that the Qosh Tepa Canal had experienced a major breach, with satellite imagery obtained from Sentinel-2 showing a large body of water stretching for nine kilometers on the northern bank of the canal. The body of water was reported to increase further during the subsequent days. Afghan officials denied the reports, claiming the waters of the canal were temporarily redirected to a nearby area in a deliberate move.