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Abstract The increase in urban population growth has contributed to the expansion of unplanned settlements, especially in developing countries. Triggered by the lack of government oversight, the expansion of these settlements is characterized by unique economic, social, physical, and functional attributes. This study aims at exploring the physical features of unplanned settlements in District 4th of Herat city, western Afghanistan. Employing a mixed-research method, we integrated spatial analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into detailed field observations to get a better understanding of the characteristics of the formation of these informal settlements. Our findings shed light on a number of key physical features including irregular street layouts, inadequate drainage systems, and substandard construction materials, irregular buildings in term of layout, number of floors, and building density. The features of unplanned urban morphology contribute to socio-economic loss and environmental degradation due to the absence of critical infrastructures including water infrastructures and the presence of unplanned streets in under-resourced unplanned settlements. In fact, the absence of government’s efforts in monitoring the development of unplanned settlements hinders the provision of essential services and infrastructures in the informal settlement communities. Our assertion is that the findings of this research will help policy makers in Afghanistan to reconsider their policies and decisions on urban development and growth, particularly in the poorer and under-served unplanned settlements in major cities in Afghanistan.

In the absence of a transboundary water agreement between riparian states of Harirud River Basin, downstream states—Iran and Turkmenistan—have adopted a resource-capturing policy through the construction of Doosti Dam in the lower Harirud River Basin when the upstream state—Afghanistan—was engaged in social unrest during 1980s to the early 2000s. While Doosti Dam has a high potential of supplying water for major cities in Turkmenistan and Iran, its flow has declined due to climate changes and drought in the basin. The paper found that Iran accuses Afghanistan of blocking the flow of water through the construction of Salma Dam, whereas some Afghan and Iranian scholars critique Iran’s water management approach for water shortages through construction of dams and employment of unsustainable irrigation approaches in the lower Harirud River Basin. Additionally, the hydro-hegemony theory was critiqued as the theory under-estimates the broader role of outside basin players in influencing and reshaping the hydro-politics of a shared watercourse. Finally, it was concluded that the rapid drawdown of the US forces from Afghanistan along with the establishment of a fragile, weak, and politically unrecognized government-Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan—under Taliban administration—helped Iran to reinforce its hydro-hegemonic potential in the basin.

Despite the importance of water management in Islamic culture, the role of religion has been underemphasized by scholars. Using the three criteria of equity, responsibility and sustainability, this study aims to assess whether Islamic water management principles are incorporated into the revision of the transboundary Helmand River Basin under the administration of the Taliban regime. In August 2021, Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, with a goal of ruling Afghanistan based on Islamic Sharia law, presumably including the management of the transboundary watercourses. One such basin is the Helmand, shared with the downstream Islamic Republic of Iran, with whom Afghanistan will likely revisit the transboundary Helmand River Treaty, possibly based on Islamic water management principles. We examine how principles of Islamic code may influence future negotiations, including the construction of dams on the upper Helmand River Basin initiated under the former administration.