Helmand River

For Iran, the Helmand’s importance is especially visible in Sistan, the basin around Zabol in the country’s southeast. The river is also called the Hirmand. Its lower waters contribute to the Hamoun system, where shallow lakes, marshes, channels, and dry ground form an inland delta along the border with Afghanistan. Unlike a coastal delta, this system lies within an internal drainage basin. s1

The Ramsar information sheet for Hamoun-e-Saberi and Hamoun-e-Helmand describes interconnected waters supplied by the Helmand, the Farah River, and other streams. It distinguishes the lakes rather than treating Hamoun as one permanent body of water. Flows, overflows, and flooding connect different parts of the system, making the location and timing of water delivery important alongside its volume. s1

The same historical wetland assessment describes reed beds, mudflats, tamarisk thickets, and fresh-to-brackish waters. It records reed harvesting for livestock forage, boats, windbreaks, and fuel, together with fishing that supplemented local incomes. These uses explain why wetland decline affects a wider landscape of livelihoods. Its descriptions are a historical baseline, not confirmation that all those activities continue at the same scale today. s1

A US Geological Survey account explains that the Hamoun wetlands naturally alternate between wetter and drier conditions. Large areas can dry regularly, while prolonged dry periods disrupt fishing and cause birds to move elsewhere. This distinction matters when interpreting satellite images: an image of dry ground needs a date and seasonal context before it can establish an exceptional event or a lasting trend. A sequence of observations is more informative than an isolated dramatic view. s3

The Afghan–Iranian Helmand River Water Treaty was signed on 13 March 1973. FAO’s legal database describes provisions for deliveries to Iran at specified locations, with different treatment of normal conditions and drought. It also identifies commissioners, consultation, dispute-resolution arrangements, and water-quality provisions. These establish the agreement’s subject and institutional framework; they do not demonstrate that any particular year’s obligations were fulfilled. s2

A careful explanation must therefore separate the treaty’s wording from measured deliveries and from the ecological requirements of the wetlands. Annual compliance cannot be established from the existence of the agreement, a reservoir announcement, or one flood event. It requires verified hydrological records and interpretation of the relevant reporting periods. The inspected FAO record supports this overview, but the complete treaty text and a reconciled delivery record remain necessary for a detailed legal and numerical account. s2

UNDP’s 2024 Hamoun project factsheet identifies climate change and unsustainable water use as pressures on the wetlands. It describes an initiative intended to combine ecosystem restoration with alternative livelihoods and integrated management of natural resources. The factsheet also records that the European Union had suspended the project at that time. These statements describe the programme’s aims and its reported situation in that publication, rather than verified restoration outcomes by 2026. s4

The central lesson is that water allocation, wetland recovery, and household livelihoods are connected but require different evidence. Treaty documentation explains an agreed framework; hydrological monitoring establishes flows; ecological surveys assess habitat; and social research examines effects on communities. Keeping those distinctions clear makes the Helmand understandable without reducing a shared river system to a single dispute or a single explanation. s1s2s4

Simplified connections within the Hamoun system

The diagram distinguishes the wider inland delta from its component lakes and shows documented overflow connections. It simplifies distributaries and does not imply permanent inundation, equal inflows, or a measurement of current conditions.