Conceptualizing Trust Using the Helmand River as an Example

Abstract Establishing trust is the foundation for sustainable and reliable cooperation between co-riparian states of a shared river basin. Lack of trust threatens water availability and accessibility at the transboundary level. Using a cost–benefit analysis (CBA), this chapter assesses the challenges of trust at the transboundary Helmand River from the lens of SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats), a conceptual decision support model (DSM). Despite signing and ratifying the Helmand River Treaty, both upstream and downstream nations failed to fully implement it. While both states were responsible for specifying the three points of water delivery near the Afghan–Iranian political border after ratification, social unrest in Afghanistan, political regime changes in Iran, and the start of a hydraulic mission in Iran in the 1980s and in Afghanistan in the early 2000s hampered those efforts, eventually generating mistrust between the two nations. Also, both nations prioritize national interest over the transboundary interest, which further threatens water availability and accessibility, especially given the adverse effects of climate change. Thus, a DSM is essential for building trust and cooperation as water availability and accessibility, particularly at the transboundary level, are being impacted by climatic changes. In particular, a CBA of the DSM will enable riparian states to address vulnerability to water and the ecosystem in response to climate changes. If trust and cooperation in the basin improve, joint investment in water infrastructures will lead to socioeconomic development that will further support the trust-building processes between the riparians of the Helmand River basin.