MALEKI NAJAFABADI S., SOLTANI KOPAEI S., SAFIANIAN A., SAATCHI S., POURMANAFI S., RAHDARI V., Weather Climate and Society, Vol. 11, No. 3, PP. 609_622, 2019.

Abstract: Negative impacts of climate change on ecosystems have been increasing, and both the intensification andthe mitigation of these impacts are strongly linked with human activities. Management and reduction ofhuman-induced disturbances on ecosystems can mitigate the effects of climate change and enhance theecosystem recovery process. Here, we investigate coupled human and climate effects on the wetland eco-system of the lower Helmand basin from 1977 to 2014. Using time series climate-variable data and land-usechanges from Landsat time series imagery, we compared changes in ecosystem status between the upstreamand downstream regions. Results show that despite a strong and prolonged drought in the region, the up-stream region of the lower Helmand basin remained dominated by agriculture, causing severe water stress onthe Hamoun wetlands downstream. The loss of available water in wetlands was followed by large-scale landabandonment in rural areas, migration to the cities, and increasing unemployment and economic hardship.Our results suggest that unsustainable land-use policies in the upstream region, combined with synergisticeffects of human activities and climate in lower Helmand basin, have exacerbated the effects of water stress onlocal inhabitants in the downstream region.