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, 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.
[
]
Deforestation
Felling is illegal all over the country.
According to a 2010 report, only about 2.1% (or 1,350,000
ha) of Afghanistan is forested. Some steps have been taken in recent years in planting trees in the urban areas across Afghanistan. Even the Taliban spiritual leader has recently called for planting more trees. Afghanistan had a
Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.85/10, ranking it 15th globally out of 172 countries.
Afghans have historically depended on forests for
firewood
Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can ...
and the revenue generated by export of
pistachio
The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food.
''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other sp ...
s and
almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...
s, which grow in natural woodlands in the central and northern regions. The
Badghis and
Takhar provinces have lost more than 50% of pistachio woodland. In the past many have used wood for fuel, and those such as the
Northern Alliance have cleared trees which could have provided hiding places for ambushes from the
Taliban. Further, the use of the woodlands for grazing ground and the collection of nuts for export apparently prevent new pistachio trees from growing.
[
]
Afghanistan has lost nearly half of its forests. Denser forests in the eastern
Nangarhar,
Kunar,
Nuristan and other provinces are at risk from
timber harvesting by timber mafia. Although the
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
is illegal, profits from exporting the timber to neighboring Pakistan are very high. 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
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
, and
Lahore, where most of it is used to make expensive furniture. The Afghan government has formed special park rangers to monitor and stop these activities.
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
Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and ...
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.
Wildlife
Hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
is illegal in Afghanistan because much of the country's wildlife is at risk of being extinct.
In 2014 around 5,000 birds were smuggled out of Afghanistan, which included
falcons,
hawk
Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
s and
geese. In 2006, Afghanistan and the
Wildlife Conservation Society began a three-year project to protect wildlife and habitats in
Band-e Amir National Park
__NOTOC__
Band-e Amir National Park ( fa, بند امیر) Afghanistan established its first national park on April 22, 2009, to promote and protect the natural beauty of a series of intensely blue lakes created by natural dams high in the Hindu ...
and
Wakhan National Park
__NOTOC__
Wakhan National Park is a national park in Afghanistan. Established in 2014, the park comprises the entire district of Wakhan, extending along the Wakhan Corridor between the Pamir mountains and the Hindu Kush, bordering Tajikistan to ...
.
[
]
Endangered species
*
Asian black bear
The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, sout ...
(''Ursus thibetanus'')
*
Falcon
*
Houbara bustard
The houbara bustard (''Chlamydotis undulata''), also known as African houbara, is a relatively small bustard native to North Africa, where it lives in arid habitats. The global population is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2014. ...
(''Chlamydotis undulata'')
*
Marco Polo sheep (''Ovis ammon polii'')
*
Markhor (''Capra falconeri'')
*
Siberian crane (''Grus leucogeranus'')
*
Snow leopard (''Uncia uncia'')
*
Urial (''Ovis orientalis'')
*
Wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'')
Critically endangered species
*
Corn crake (''Crex crex'')
*
Eastern imperial eagle (''Aquilla heliaca'')
*
Greater spotted eagle (''Aquilla clanga'')
*
Lesser kestrel (''Falco naumanni'')
*
Marbled duck (''Marmaronetta angustirostris'')
*
Pallas's fish eagle (''Haliaeetus leucoryphus'')
*
Sociable lapwing (''Vanellus gregaria'')
*
White-headed duck
The white-headed duck (''Oxyura leucocephala'') is a small diving duck some long. The male has a white head with black crown, a blue bill, and reddish-grey plumage. The female has a dark bill and rather duller colouring. Its breeding habitat is ...
(''Oxyura leucocephala'')
*
Yellow-eyed pigeon
The yellow-eyed pigeon or pale-backed pigeon (''Columba eversmanni'') is a member of the family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). It breeds in southern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, north-east Iran and ...
(''Columba hodgsonii'')
Little is known about the status of the
salamander ''
Batrachuperus mustersi'', which is found only in the
Hindu Kush.
Water management
Most of Afghanistan's
fresh water
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
flow by fast-flowing
rivers
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
into neighboring countries.
This naturally benefits those countries but not Afghanistan. The primary threat to Afghanistan's
water supply is the
droughts, which have created food shortages for millions of Afghans in the past. The resulting agricultural crises between 1995 and 2001 have driven many thousands of families from rural to urban areas.
[
]
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.
According to
UNICEF, only around 67% of the population of Afghanistan has access to clean
drinking water. This number is expected to steadily increase in the future, 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.
Between 1998 and 2003, about 99% of the
Sistan wetlands were dry, another result of continued drought and lack of
water management.
[
] 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
Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...
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
A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transporte ...
submerged as many as 100 villages by 2003.
Some of the major
water reservoirs and
dams include the following:
*
Band-e Amir in
Bamyan Province
*
Dahla Dam in
Kandahar Province
*
Darunta Dam in
Nangarhar Province
*
Kajaki Dam in
Helmand Province
*
Kamal Khan Dam
Kamal Khan Dam ( ps, کمال خان بند) is a hydroelectric and irrigation dam project on the Helmand River in Chahar Burjak District of Nimruz Province in south-western Afghanistan. It is located about 95 km to the southeast of Zaranj ...
in
Nimruz Province
*
Naghlu Dam in
Kabul Province
*
Qargha Reservoir
Qargha ( prs, بند قرغه) is a dam and reservoir at Qargha near Kabul, in Afghanistan. The reservoir and its peripheral areas provide for recreation facilities such as boating, surfing, golfing, etc. and has a hotel on its bank. There is a f ...
in Kabul Province
*
Salma Dam (Afghan-India Friendship Dam) in
Herat Province
*
Sardeh Dam between
Ghazni Province and
Paktika Province
Pollution
Since 2002, over 5 million Afghan citizens living in
Pakistan and
Iran have returned to Afghanistan. Many of them settled in the big cities, particularly in
Kabul,
Kandahar,
Herat,
Mazar-i-Sharif and
Jalalabad.
Air pollution
Air pollution in Afghanistan's major
cities is becoming a serious problem to public health. Residents of Kabul suffer the most from air pollution. Over 2,000 Kabul residents die from air pollution each year. Large number of vehicles in the city is the main reason for this.
Nationally, an estimated 5,000 people die from air pollution. Some sources have given a much higher number of deaths in the past. Vehicles are also blamed for the air pollution in the other cities.
Domestic and industrial waste
Afghanistan has long lacked a proper sewage system. In 2002, the
United Nations Environment Programme found that a lack of waste management systems was creating dangerous conditions in several urban areas.
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
Biomedical waste or hospital waste is any kind of waste containing infectious (or potentially infectious) materials. It may also include waste associated with the generation of biomedical waste that visually appears to be of medical or laboratory ...
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
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefie ...
are another source of water contamination. In Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif, crude oil spills and leaks are uncontained and unsafe levels of
hydrocarbons reach residential water supplies.
Nuclear waste by Pakistan
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.
See also
*
Environmental impacts of war in Afghanistan The ongoing environmental impacts of war in Afghanistan, from the 1979 beginning of the Soviet-Afghan War to the 2021 United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan, adversely affect the health of Afghan civilians and American veterans, infrastructure ...
*
Geography of Afghanistan
*
Health in Afghanistan Health in Afghanistan is steadily improving but it remains poor by today's international standard. It is negatively affected by the nation's environmental issues and the continuing war since 1978, particularly the latest Taliban insurgency . The ...
References
External links
{{Asia in topic, Environmental issues in
Issues
Health in Afghanistan
Afghanistan