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One of Afghanistans Major Environmental Concerns is the Continued Clearing of Its Forest Areas

Written By Wednesday, 19 October 2022 Add Comment Edit

Environmental issues in Afghanistan predate the political turmoil of the past few decades. Forests have been depleted by centuries of grazing and farming, practices which have only increased with modern population growth. In Afghanistan, environmental conservation and economic concerns are not at odds; with over 44% of the population dependent on herding or farming,[1] the welfare of the environment is critical to the economic welfare of the people. In 2007, the World Health Organization released a report ranking Afghanistan as the lowest among non-African nations in deaths from environmental hazards.[2]

Deforestation [edit]

Much of the population depends on forests for firewood and the revenue generated by export of pistachios and almonds, which grow in natural woodlands in the central and northern regions. The Badghis and Takhar provinces have lost more than 50% of pistachio woodland. During the conflicts of the past few decades, residents and the militias such as the Northern Alliance have used wood for fuel, and these militia forces have cleared trees which could have provided hiding places for ambushes from their opponents. Further, the use of the woodlands for grazing ground and the collection of nuts for export apparently prevent new pistachio trees from growing.[3]

Afghanistan has lost nearly half of its forests.[4] [5] [6] Denser forests in the eastern Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan, and other provinces are at risk from timber harvesting by timber mafia. Although the logging is illegal, profits from exporting the timber to neighboring Pakistan are very high.[7] [8] The reason for this is that Pakistani government has its forests tightly protected so the timber mafia are busy cutting down trees in Afghanistan instead. The timber makes its way not only to Peshawar but also to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Lahore, where most of it is used to make expensive furniture. The Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) has formed special park rangers to monitor and stop these activities.[9]

As forest cover decrease, the land becomes less and less productive, threatening the livelihood of the rural population and the floods are washing the agricultural lands and destroying the houses. Loss of vegetation also creates a higher risk of floods, which not only endanger the people, but cause soil erosion and decrease the amount of land available for agriculture. To reverse this destruction, MAIL is attempting to turn Afghanistan green again by planting millions of trees every spring, particularly on the 10th of March, which is recognized as national tree plantation day in the country.[10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

Afghanistan had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.85/10, ranking it 15th globally out of 172 countries.[17]

Wildlife [edit]

With very little government infrastructure to discourage hunting, and habitat disappearing because of conflict and drought, much of the country's wildlife is at risk. In 2006, Afghanistan and the Wildlife Conservation Society began a three-year project to protect wildlife and habitats along the Wakhan Corridor and Central Plateau regions.[18]

  • Endangered species
    • Snow leopard (Uncia uncia)
    • Wild goat (Capra aegagrus)
    • Markhor (Capra falconeri)
    • Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon polii)
    • Urial (Ovis orientalis)
    • Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)
    • Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus)
  • Critically endangered species
    • White-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala)
    • Marbled teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris)
    • Pallas's sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus)
    • Greater spotted eagle (Aquilla clanga)
    • Imperial eagle (Aquilla heliaca)
    • Lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni)
    • Corncrake (Crex crex)
    • Sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregaria)
    • Pale-backed pigeon (Columba hodgsonii)

Little is known about the status of the salamander Batrachuperus mustersi, which is found only in the Hindu Kush.

Water management [edit]

Most of Afghanistan's fresh water flow by fast-flowing rivers into neighboring countries.[19] [20] This naturally benefits those countries but not Afghanistan.[21] [22] [23] [24] The primary threat to Afghanistan's water supply is the droughts, which have created food shortages for millions of Afghans in the recent past.[25] The resulting agricultural crises between 1995 and 2001 have driven many thousands of families from rural to urban areas.[26] In response to drought, deep wells for irrigation have been drilled which decreased the under ground water level, further draining groundwater resources, which rely on rain for replenishment.[12]

According to UNICEF, only around 67% of the population of Afghanistan has access to clean drinking water.[27] This number is expected to steadily increase in the future,[28] especially in Kabul after the Shah wa Arus and Shahtoot dams are completed. The major organizations helping Afghanistan better manage its water resources are Indian and German.[20] [29] [30]

Between 1998 and 2003, about 99% of the Sistan wetlands were dry, another result of continued drought and lack of water management.[31] The wetlands, an important habitat for breeding and migrant waterfowl including the dalmatian pelican and the marbled teal, have provided water for agricultural irrigation for at least 5,000 years. They are fed by the Helmand and Farah rivers, which ran at 98% below average in drought years between 2001 and 2003. As in other areas of the country, the loss of natural vegetation resulted in soil erosion; here, sandstorms submerged as many as 100 villages by 2003.[3]

Some of the major water reservoirs and dams include the following:

  • Afghan-India Friendship Dam in Herat Province
  • Band-e Amir in Bamyan Province
  • Dahla Dam in Kandahar Province
  • Darunta Dam in Nangarhar Province
  • Kajaki Dam in Helmand Province
  • Kamal Khan Dam in Nimruz Province
  • Naghlu Dam in Kabul Province
  • Qargha Reservoir in Kabul Province
  • Sardeh Dam between Ghazni Province and Paktika Province

Pollution [edit]

Kabul in 2005, which is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It has an estimated population of more than 4 million people these days

Urban populations have swelled in the past several years. Since 2002, over 5 million former refugees living in Pakistan and Iran have returned home to Afghanistan. Many of these settled in the capital Kabul, which also include migrants that have come from drought-ravaged rural areas.

Air pollution [edit]

Like in many other cities around the world, air pollution in Afghanistan's cities is also a serious problem to public health.[32] [33] [34] [35] [36]

Domestic and industrial waste [edit]

Afghanistan has long lacked a proper sewage system.[37] [38] In 2002, the United Nations Environment Programme found that a lack of waste management systems was creating dangerous conditions in several urban areas.[3] In Kabul's districts 5 and 6, household and medical waste was discarded on streets. Human waste was contained in open sewers, which flowed into the Kabul River and contaminated the city's drinking water.

Urban dumpsites have been used in lieu of managed landfills in Kabul, Kandahar and Herat, often without protection of nearby rivers and groundwater supplies. Medical waste from hospitals is sometimes disposed in the dumpsites with the rest of the cities' waste, contaminating water and air with bacteria and viruses.

Lack of sewage management is not unique to Kabul. In urban areas, open sewers are common while wastewater treatment is not. Much of the urban water supply is contaminated by Escherichia coli and other bacteria.

Oil refineries are another source of water contamination. In Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif, crude oil spills and leaks are uncontained and unsafe levels of hydrocarbons reach residential water supplies.

Nuclear waste by Pakistan [edit]

In 2008, the Afghan government stated that it was investigating allegation that Pakistan had dumped nuclear waste in southern Afghanistan during the Taliban rule in the late 1990s.[39]

See also [edit]

  • Environmental impacts of war in Afghanistan
  • Geography of Afghanistan
  • Health in Afghanistan

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Afghanistan: Labor force - by occupation". World Factbook. CIA. 2017. Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
  2. ^ "New country-by-country data show in detail the impact of environmental factors on health". World Health Organization. 2007-06-13. Archived from the original on June 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-15 .
  3. ^ a b c "Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment: Afghanistan" (PDF). United Nations Environment Programme. 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-15 .
  4. ^ "'We're in crisis': The high price of deforestation in Afghanistan". Al Jazeera. July 4, 2019. Retrieved 2021-02-25 .
  5. ^ "Deforestation in Afghanistan Multiplies Climate and Security Threats". September 14, 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-25 .
  6. ^ "Made worse by tree loss, flooding forces migration in Afghanistan". Reuters. September 8, 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-25 .
  7. ^ "Afghanistan's Forests A Casualty Of Timber Smuggling". NPR. March 18, 2013. Retrieved 2021-02-25 .
  8. ^ "Afghanistan's Forests Are Turning a Profit for the Islamic State". Foreign Policy. July 15, 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-25 .
  9. ^ "Govt to Create "Green Unit Force" to Protect Forests". TOLOnews. December 5, 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-09 .
  10. ^ "Government to Plant 'Millions' of Trees Across Afghanistan". TOLOnews. March 10, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-10 .
  11. ^ "National tree plantation campaign begins: MAIL". Pajhwok Afghan News. March 10, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-10 .
  12. ^ a b "Afghanistan Hires Lockdown Jobless to Boost Kabul's Water and Trees". KCET. June 15, 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  13. ^ "Changing the Afghan landscape, one tree at a time". United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). May 4, 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-10 .
  14. ^ "Afghan Tree Planter Cultivates His Dream". Bashir Ahmad Ghezali; Farangis Najibullah. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). May 27, 2014. Retrieved 2021-03-10 .
  15. ^ "Tree-planting in Afghanistan to be discussed in San Anselmo event". marinij.com. October 3, 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-03 .
  16. ^ "Citizens Plant 1.2 Million Trees in Eastern Afghanistan". United States Agency for International Development. April 15, 2009. Archived from the original on March 7, 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-03 .
  17. ^ Grantham, H. S.; Duncan, A.; Evans, T. D.; Jones, K. R.; Beyer, H. L.; Schuster, R.; Walston, J.; Ray, J. C.; Robinson, J. G.; Callow, M.; Clements, T.; Costa, H. M.; DeGemmis, A.; Elsen, P. R.; Ervin, J.; Franco, P.; Goldman, E.; Goetz, S.; Hansen, A.; Hofsvang, E.; Jantz, P.; Jupiter, S.; Kang, A.; Langhammer, P.; Laurance, W. F.; Lieberman, S.; Linkie, M.; Malhi, Y.; Maxwell, S.; Mendez, M.; Mittermeier, R.; Murray, N. J.; Possingham, H.; Radachowsky, J.; Saatchi, S.; Samper, C.; Silverman, J.; Shapiro, A.; Strassburg, B.; Stevens, T.; Stokes, E.; Taylor, R.; Tear, T.; Tizard, R.; Venter, O.; Visconti, P.; Wang, S.; Watson, J. E. M. (2020). "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material". Nature Communications. 11 (1). doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3. ISSN 2041-1723.
  18. ^ "Afghanistan To Protect Wildlife And Wild Lands". Science Daily. 2006-06-28. Retrieved 2007-06-16 .
  19. ^ "Afghanistan and Pakistan's Looming Water Conflict". The Diplomat. December 15, 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-10 . Afghanistan has abundant water resources. It produces 80 billion cubic meters of water a year, pumping 60 billion cubic meters of it to the neighbors — particularly Pakistan.
  20. ^ a b "Iran Criticism of Afghan Dam Projects Draws Rebuke From Kabul Officials". Voice of America (VOA). July 5, 2017. Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  21. ^ "Afghanistan's Rivers Could Be India's Next Weapon Against Pakistan". Foreign Policy. November 13, 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-10 .
  22. ^ "Afghanistan and Iran: From water treaty to water dispute". The Interpreter. October 14, 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-10 .
  23. ^ "A Pak-Afghan water treaty?". The News International. July 9, 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-10 .
  24. ^ "Cutting across the Durand: Water dispute between Pakistan and Afghanistan on river Kabul". Amit Ranjan; Drorima Chatterjee. December 27, 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-10 .
  25. ^ ACT International (Action by Churches Together) (2006-10-01). "ACT Alert: Afghanistan Drought". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-06-15 .
  26. ^ "Drought Map, Understanding Afghanistan: Land in Crisis". National Geographic. 2001-11-15. Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2007-06-15 .
  27. ^ "WASH: Water, sanitation and hygiene". UNICEF. Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  28. ^ "Awareness-raising about clean water". KfW. February 13, 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  29. ^ "India to complete dam for safe drinking water in Kabul". The Hindu. November 25, 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  30. ^ "Awareness-raising about clean water". Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  31. ^ Alex Kirby (2003-02-07). "Afghan wetlands 'almost dried out'". BBC. Retrieved 2007-06-15 .
  32. ^ "Air pollution killed almost 5,000 people in Afghanistan in 2020, health ministry says". German Press Agency. Daily Sabah. January 13, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  33. ^ "Air Pollution Claimed Almost 5,000 Lives In Afghanistan Last Year". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. January 13, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  34. ^ "Afghanistan:Air pollution more dangerous than civil war". Anadolu Agency. February 1, 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-11 . Nearly 26,000 people lost their lives due to air pollution related diseases in 2017, 3,483 deaths due to war
  35. ^ "Afghan capital's air pollution may be even deadlier than war". Rahim Faiez. Associated Press. November 13, 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  36. ^ "Afghanistan - Environmental health". WHO. Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  37. ^ "Sewage from US Embassy, NATO headquarters dumped into Kabul River due to aging infrastructure". Stars and Stripes (newspaper). September 12, 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  38. ^ "Afghanistan: Managing wastewater to help improve living conditions" (PDF). International Committee of the Red Cross. February 14, 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-11 .
  39. ^ Vennard, Martin (1 April 2008). "Pakistan 'dumped nuclear waste'". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-07-23 .

External links [edit]

berkeyduat1938.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_Afghanistan

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