Award for watershed in Afghanistan

A project to prevent flooding and to increase land productivity in the Kahmard district of Bamiyan province in central Afghanistan has won the Swiss Re 2009 International ReSource Award for sustainable watershed management.

The winning project, being carried out by the Swiss non-governmental organization Helvetas, will benefit a rural population of nearly 18,000 people who live off a land area in danger of flooding and erosion.

The project is part of the overall Helvetas Disaster Risk Mitigation project in Kahmard and Tala-wa-Barfak in Baghlan province.

The award was given at this year’s World Water Forum in Istanbul. The prize money is $150,000 (£102,000) and the total cost of the project is $499,500.