A Regional Peace Model for Afghanistan

and many other places to follow soon



1.    Afghanistan and the need for healing its deep wounds

Afghanistan reflects many things, which at other places could be named “singular issues”: Following state bankruptcy in 1955 infrastructures got more and more neglected. Because of the country's geostrategic position though both parties of cold war back then somehow helped out. 

• As Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands says, the country is rich and arid and that way suffering from water shortage at the same time. War and violence since the Soviet invasion 1979 have helped to increase shortages. Droughts because of reduced snow fall in the mountains and increased migration from rural areas into safer cities have helped to diminish food and water security both in rural and urban areas.
• Illegal drugs became a dubious haven for desperate unemployed young men particularly after the Western invasion in 2001. Sales and distribution of illegal drugs on the world market also has become a good business for all war parties recently. That way war, violence and despair has increased. Pathways to more safety couldn't be unlocked.
• Migration pressure on apparently safe urban centers like the Afghan capital Kabul is increasing an urban and rural debacle. The fastest growing town in Central Asia is also pressuring weakened suburban and regional infrastructures. About 70 % of Kabul's population is living in informal settlements. Neglected and destroyed infrastructures both in the city and on the countryside cannot safeguard healthy development of economy and the population’s welfare at all. The situation causes more and more displacement and violence on all levels of society. 
• "Water as a leverage" for quoting Henk Ovink once more is the most important substance linking and nourishing all sides and levels of society. The territory read through the lens of urban and rural ground water reveals, that geography, landscape and political actors for avoiding scarcity and its negative impacts need support for building up better and more sustainable systems of water management. 
• This isn't unique for Afghanistan and Kabul. The exploitation of man and his environment is a general principle. War and destruction though are the ultimate frontier of human degradation. The country's geographic and geostrategic position here has caused a situation beyond compare. 

Infrastructures are essentially "networks linking and nourishing all sides and levels of society".

Building up infrastructures for safeguarding sustainable water management is the key towards an integrative Peace process.

Not only, but particularly for Afghanistan. 

2.    The current pandemic and world markets

The pandemic in Afghanistan highlights the failure of infrastructures for and with the people. The view on urban centers like Kabul reflects, that the health system, water and sanitation cannot tackle the requirements at all. Current economics are rather increasing inequality. A general principle, which isn't only true for Afghanistan. Once more.
But for a deeply wounded country like Afghanistan that is even worse. 

• The world markets now trying to promote the urgent shift from fossil fools though tend to blind consumers in the West regarding new systems of exploitation of man and the environment: Lithium-ion batteries consume and spill enormous resources of groundwater at places of mining like in Chile. Mostly informal Cobalt mining for batteries for electric cars in another long time war zone, Central African Congo there increases inequality and insecurity to the max. Africa's biggest market for used cars at Lagos in Nigeria, where first, after arrival of an old car from Europe the catalyzer is removed for exploiting the precious resources show, how toxic a continuation of the systems of exploitation of humans and their environment also shifting towards electric mobility are. Air and water pollution get worse that way.
• Extensive copper mining by a Chinese company in Kabul's neighboring Logar province will also endanger food and water security in the area. Kabul relies on groundwater resources from the neighboring district. Logar River joins Kabul River shortly below the city. Besides that the recently discovered huge Buddhist World cultural heritage site Mes Aynak is endangered by mining as well. The pandemic now exacerbates the core issues of Afghan society. Also mining requires purification and special water treatment at the place of gaining resources itself. 
• Traditional water management systems for irrigation in Afghanistan like qanat and karez are overloaded and need support.

Local environmental initiatives are required. 

Water and its flow, water management and waste management are essential for tackling local and regional misery and inequality invigorated by the lockdown and the pandemic. These are the foundations of any provision towards the future.
Life around water in urban and rural areas is linked and connected everywhere.

3.    Urgent challenges for the current water situation

Once more: in Afghanistan, but not only there.

• The war has become a perpetual state of living. A continuous mindset. A permanent threat, blocking any vision for a promising future. For young people and their parents. For families and communities. 
• The drug issue and grey and twilight market areas between West and East, North and South are also deeply immanent in studies like those of Anne Case's and Angus Deaton's description of the US-Opioid crisis in
  "Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism". 
•  "Good Economics for Hard Times" edited by Esther Duflo and Abhijit V. Banerjee in 2019 shows based on their "Poor Economics" from 2011, how important and efficient local projects developed as case studies for moving towards a more promising future are. 

The pandemic now highlights all these impacts also on our societies.
"Globalization" within Sars CoV-2 (19) requires new checks and balances. 

The projects shall initiate massive local and regional job and training programs for apprenticeship.
As a Student / University based case study for Ph.D. and other research programs they shall be accompanied on site dealing with subjects like:

• architecture, urban and regional planning, landscape architecture, engineering sciences, hydrology:
  sustainable urban and regional planning in post-war countries, implementation of rebuilding concepts.
• economy: development and political economy: 
  stabilization processes of post-war subsidized governments towards more independence and
  meanwhile integration into global markets.
• law, constitutional law and public international law:
  justice and federal regulation systems, national and local (federal) legislation processes
  in post-war countries. ”Transitional justice” and “rudimentary legislation”
  for balancing interests of the public.
• sociology / social sciences, anthropology:
  (re-) building equality and dignity by capacity building of (weak) stakeholders
  and communities in post-war-countries.
• political sciences, psychology, pedagogics, medicine, biology etc. 
  as other campaigning / assisting faculties. 

1. st phase: announcement, call for tendering, application and selection procedure for communities / neighborhoods in collaboration with city municipalities and local authorities. 
   - size of units: 3-5 hectares (7,5-13 acres), 1.000 - 5.000 gozar (neighborhood) inhabitants each.
   - Selection preferences: 3 units at Kabul, 1 of them located in the old town (1 out of 5 gozars there),
   1 unit at Masar-e-Sharif, 1 unit at Herat, 1 unit at Kunduz, 1 unit at Kandahar. 
   - Duration: about 3 months.
   
   
2. nd phase: design and general layout of type of system to be installed at the location.
   Recruitment of local staff on all levels. Intensified contact to different local stakeholders and authorities.
   Including as well fire brigade / civil protection agencies, shop keepers and their organizations, tenants,
   landlords: communities and their members, boards and representative bodies etc. Preparation of planning and exact site mapping for gravity based stormwater and sanitation systems:
   - pipe systems for safeguarding drinking water quality of ground water.
   - treatment e.g. by low-tech treatment plants. Mostly primary treatment by Imhoff tank and secondary treatment by trickling filter,
   - constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment with reed-beds,
   - both systems combined and others.
   - Combined with intensified river bank and ground water management:
   flow, flooding areas, regulation of private and public well-digging.
   - “Re-naturalization” of the river and its shores as another keyword for the whole procedure.
   Team building and recruitment processes. Online and meanwhile start of installation of site facilities. Evaluation and (faculty-based) monitoring: sharpening and outlining subjects and fields of research.
   Installation of intern and extern communication and presentation platforms.
   - Duration: about 6 months.
   
   
3. rd phase: Specifications in details on all levels, all fields. 
   Monitoring of participation processes. Integration of different stakeholders.
   Outlining of cases of land ownership clearance for balancing out interests. Preparation of "rudimentary building laws" and “transitional justice” with federal and local authorities for safeguarding community interests.
   Reforms of "istimlaq" and other traditional land ownership procedures, guaranteeing consideration and inclusion of opposing interests in the sense of public health and welfare. Announcement of these legislation processes within case study discussions in public on selected and locally authorized platform. Installation of a "rudimentary land register", based on these systems of maintenance and upgrading of public health and welfare. 
   International public bidding and tendering for technical solutions: tubes, manholes, trickling filters etc. Technical standards to be risen. Building parts mostly to be produced or distributed in the country. Focused on reliability and longevity also regarding weakest points and elements and their maintenance.
   Thus: also rising local quality management by import of foreign knowledge and goods or even whole production units. Mid and long term perspective: rising standards and lowering prices.
   - Duration: about 5 months.
   
   
4. th phase: Implementation and site survey. Mostly assisted and worked out as before by local staff, particularly engineering teams for guaranteeing ongoing operation and maintenance locally. Extern consultancy by experienced people in all faculties and on all levels in all phases.
   - Duration: about 7 months.
   
   
5. th phase: acceptance process and handover of systems to local o+m teams.
   Mostly technicians, researchers, engineers and members of other faculties, who have worked on the
   different phases of planning and implementing systems. 
   - Duration: about 1 month.
   
   
6. th phase: documentation and acceptance of all phases, of all different approaches on university level as much as on site / on the ground. Finishing of all reports and exams.
   - Duration: about 2 months.
   
   
7. th phase:  systems running and approval of evaluation periods. Annual and five year terms.
   Preparation of phase 1 to get ready for next announcement:
   call for tendering / application process for communities /neighborhoods.
   If not already happened: transferring concepts to other post-war countries and regions. Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen etc.
   And to places, where river systems are seriously impacted particularly by the garment and leather industries and their toxic dyeing processes. Such as Bangladesh, India, China, Indonesia etc. 

All together: 2 years time for one project flow path. 
          5 years for o+m survey support backup and evaluation. 

5.    Specific Aims of that project are

To develop a management model for the Afghan case. "Water as a leverage" that way becomes the medium for connecting and linking urban and regional communities. For balancing interests of people of different social and ethnic origin. For building up a sustainable post-war infrastructure. 

• To structure a strategy for post-war contexts in the Middle east. As similar misery and war as the ultimate frontier of human degradation have also hit other countries in the area in the harshest way possible a strategy of that kind shall get adapted there as well. Working with smart low-tech and
  low-size, community based model studies also helps to downscale the big picture. And for invigorating integration of people from different backgrounds. With most of them deeply horrified by war and misery.
• To develop the seed and foundation of a (Global) Ministry of Water with local and national branches. And to develop Basic Development urban and regional units as key part of that. Once more not only for Afghanistan, but as a walkable pathway for rebuilding our economies. Our relationships globally in a world, we all share. As “consumers” in “the West” as much.

"Environmental Justice" is an overall problem.
The "ecology of man's living conditions" and food and water security are a big challenge for people in "developed countries" as much as in "developing countries". If it's in Newark/ NJ, Flint/ Michigan or in Gazipur and Ashulia at Dhaka/ Bangladesh or at Darulaman/ Kabul: for enabling better livelihood and more equity, based on human dignity we have to find better ways for working together. And for protecting humans and their environment.



6.    Foreseen Impacts

• Sustainable development of urban areas in exchange with rural areas.
• More water and food security for urban and regional areas.
• Tailored standards for monitoring and evaluation.
• Urban and regional indicators in connection to water becoming sensitively
  visualized measurements for social and environmental justice.
• More possibilities for local communities for helping themselves.
• Rising hope for war-torn and exploited countries and their communities

Reduction of "migration caused by despair". Instead more "migration of hope".
In connection with Afghanistan and Europe once more here needs to be emphasized,
that currently, in autumn/ winter 2020/ 21 about 80 % of migrants in refugee camps
on Greek islands in the Aegean Sea between the EU and Turkey are Afghans.

Insofar exchanging and learning from each other shall enable us to build up
a better and healthier environment. Also in other homelands.
Places, where refugees come from.

For humans in "developed countries" as much as for
humans in otherwise "developing countries". 
For moving away from
"war as a natural state of mankind". 

7.     Estimated Cost

Each project outlined here in 4.1-7: initially 2,5 to 3 Million $ for all 7 phases (estimated 2 years).
Thus: for the first model project series about 15 to 18 Million $.
The costs will definitely fall within standardization and installation of better collaboration
between different partners and stakeholders.
And: altogether that way the gates towards more fair trade and a gateway
out of the lockdown and its impacts on most fragile countries and
communities can be opened.

Building Peace is a more promising way forward than administrating war.
War against people and their, our environment.
The Future of globalization should become an integration process.
Not a permanent intimidation and exclusion process. There’s many things to do.
And we should target and schedule that now.

There’s no climate adaption and no climate protection without environmental protection.
Without food and water safety.
And without getting people on board for having them participate from that.
Giving them jobs. Giving them hope.
Appreciating their dignity.
Humans and their masses as the reason.
And decisive part of the solution.

All crises in the last decades increased inequality amongst people.  

Ordinary people lost their livelihood. Everywhere.

This crisis now cannot be wasted like that again.

According to Buckminster Fuller we have to build up
different models for making the old models obsolete.

Models of distribution and of wealth.

Water and its flow are the key.

Connecting and nourishing people.

Not dividing them.

Giving us meaningful jobs.

Board, Founders:

Hedayatullah Ahmadzai, Engineer, Afghanistan (Bio, link)

Stefan Frischauf, Architect and engineer, Germany (Bio, link)

Carlos Jaramillo, Architect and cultural heritage consultant, Colombia (Bio, link)