Environmental issues in Afghanistan are monitored by theNational Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA).[1] These issues predate the political turmoil of the past few decades.Forests have been depleted by centuries ofgrazing andfarming, practices which have only increased with modern population growth.
InAfghanistan, environmental conservation and economic concerns are not at odds; with over 44% of thepopulation dependent onherding or farming, welfare of the environment is critical to the economic welfare of the people. Environmental hazards cause about 26% of all deaths in the country.[2]
Due to a combination of political, geographic, and social factors, Afghanistan is one of the most vulnerable nations toclimate change impacts.[3][4] The country ranks as the 7th least prepared to manage the impacts of climate change.[5]
Combined with infrequentearthquakes, climate-related disasters such asfloods, flash floods,avalanches and heavy snowfalls on average affect over 200,000 people every year,[6] causing massive losses of lives, livelihoods and properties.[7][8][9][10] These interacting factors, particularly protracted conflicts which erode and challenge the ability to handle, adapt to and plan for climate change at individual and national levels, often turn climate change risks and hazards into disasters.
Although the country itself contributes only very little to global warming with regard togreenhouse gas emissions, droughts due to climate change affect and will affect Afghanistan to a high degree.
Afghanistan has lost nearly half of its forests.[11][12][13] About 2.8% of the country is believed to be forested, which amounts to nearly 2,000,000 ha (4,900,000 acres) of the land.[14] Though some believe it may be less than that,[15] forests can be increased significantly by planting more trees.[16][14]Felling is illegal in allprovinces of Afghanistan.[17][18][19][20][21] This is because 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 causesoil erosion and decrease the amount of land available foragriculture. To reverse this destruction, Afghans seek to turn their land green again by planting millions of trees every spring, particularly on 10 March, which is recognized as national tree plantation day in the country.[22][14]
Afghanistan has aForest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.85/10, ranking it 15th globally out of 172 countries.[23] Residents of the country have historically depended on forests forfirewood and the revenue generated by export ofpistachios andalmonds, which grow in natural woodlands in the central and northern regions. The provinces ofBadghis andTakhar have lost more than 50% of pistachio woodland.
Denser forests in the easternNangarhar,Kunar,Nuristan and other provinces are at risk fromtimber harvesting by timber mafia. Although thelogging is illegal, profits from exporting the timber to neighboring Pakistan have been very high.[24][25] The timber made its way not only toPeshawar but also toIslamabad,Rawalpindi, andLahore, where most of it has been used to make expensive furniture. The Afghan government has formed special park rangers to monitor and stop these activities.[26]
Hunting is illegal in Afghanistan because much of the country's wildlife is at risk of being extinct.[27] Exotic birds and wild animals continue to be smuggled out of the country.[28] In 2014 around 5,000 birds were smuggled out of Afghanistan, which includedfalcons,hawks andgeese.[29] In 2006, Afghanistan and theWildlife Conservation Society began a three-year project to protect wildlife and habitats inBand-e Amir National Park andWakhan National Park.[30]
Most of Afghanistan'sfresh water flow by fast-flowingrivers into neighboring countries.[35] This benefits those countries but not Afghanistan.[36][37][38][39][40] The primary threat to Afghanistan'swater supply is thedrought in parts of the country, which often creates food shortages andhunger.[41][42] The resulting agricultural crises between 1995 and 2001 have driven many thousands of families from rural to urban areas.[43]
In response to drought, deep wells forirrigation have been drilled which decreased the under ground water level, further draining groundwater resources, which rely on rain for replenishment.[44] To fix these problems, moredams and reservoirs are being built all across the country.[45][46][47]
Around 82% of Afghanistan's population has access toclean drinking water, with urban dwellers at 99%.[48] Companies that provide drinking water to the public include Cristal,[49] Alokozay, Noshaq,[50] and others. Cristal is more expensive then the others but it is the cleanest and safest. Those that do not buy bottled drinking water rely onsprings and mineral water from deep wells.[51][52]
Between 1998 and 2003, about 99% of theSistan wetlands were dry, another result of continued drought and lack ofwater management.[53] The wetlands, an important habitat for breeding and migrant waterfowl including thedalmatian pelican and themarbled teal, have provided water for agriculturalirrigation for at least 5,000 years. They are fed by theHelmand andFarah 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.
Air pollution in Afghanistan's majorcities is becoming a serious problem to public health.[57][58] Residents of Kabul suffer the most from air pollution.[59][60] Over 2,000 Kabul residents die from air pollution each year.[61] One of the main reasons for this is the large number of old vehicles in the city.[62] Nationally, an estimated 5,000 people die from air pollution.[63][64][65] Old vehicles are also blamed for the air pollution in the other cities.[66]
Due to the decades of wars since 1978, Afghanistan was left behind in building a modern sewage system. Only somewastewater treatments have been built recently,[51] including for farming purposes.[67] Most of Kabul's sewage is collected by trucks fromseptic tanks and then dumped at nearby agricultural lands. Some homes have all their plumbing connected directly tostorm drains. The water and waste from there eventually run into nearby Kabul and Paghman rivers.[68]
In 2008, the Afghan government stated that it was investigating allegation that Pakistan had dumpednuclear waste in southern Afghanistan during the Taliban rule in the late 1990s.[69]
^"Afghanistan and Pakistan's Looming Water Conflict". The Diplomat. December 15, 2018. Retrieved2021-03-10.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.
