Abstract
Development initiatives aimed at mitigating or adapting to climate change impacts may result in unanticipated effects especially in conflict-affected contexts. To improved understanding of the implications of future climate development projects in conflict-affected states, this article qualitatively examines the experiences of local communities in the Zinda Jan district, located downstream from the Salma Dam in Herat Province, Afghanistan. Conducted in 2018, the research questions what local-level side effects (LLSEs) were experienced by communities downstream of the Salma Dam after its 2016 inauguration, and how these LLSEs might affect the potential for sustainable peace. The article builds from 25 in-depth interviews with local stakeholders in the Zinda Jan district, and highlights how communities generally experienced increased water scarcity after the completion of the dam in 2016, due to poor water management and lack of necessary infrastructure related to the dam. This water scarcity was a factor in grievances related to water access among local communities, and increased the likelihood of related communal violence. However, local perspectives also indicate desire for joint management of water resources between the state and civilians, from the source to their farms. The article provides important insight for research and policy actors to better understand the implications of future climate development projects in conflict-affected states, and their inherent contribution and/or risk to broader peace processes.
Highlights
Successful peacebuilding in fragile and conflict-affected states stops violence and prevents relapses into conflict
The Salma Dam in Herat Province, which was funded by the Government of India, is the only major water infrastructure built in Afghanistan since modernization projects in the middle of the 20th century
This article contributes to an improved understanding of the impli cations of future climate development projects in conflict-affected states, and their inherent contribution and/or risk to broader peace processes
Summary
Successful peacebuilding in fragile and conflict-affected states stops violence and prevents relapses into conflict. There is indication that the LLSEs on downstream communities in the Zinda Jan district of Herat Province have affected the prospects for peace and state-building, because they further complicate pre-existing distrust against the state and in ternational actors Much of this takes place in the context of broader liberal peacebuilding efforts in Afghanistan and the inherent normative shortcomings and operative failures (Pugh, 2006). The specific water-related background of the country is examined, before concentrating on the Salma Dam project and the socioeconomic, socio political, and socio-ecological effects experienced by communities downstream from the Salma Dam, with a focus on the Zinda Jan district The findings and their impact on peace in Zinda Jan are analyzed, followed by a discussion of the implications of this study
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