Afghanistan continues to be highly vulnerable to environmental damage that threatens the nation as well as the planet, given that up to 80% of Afghans remain dependent on natural resources for income and sustenance.  The most vulnerable—female-headed households, households with physically disabled members, landless households, and those farming only small rain-fed plots—suffer most from environmental degradation.  As a result of changes in the ecosystem, habitats for animals and plants are disappearing, which will place increasing strains on food sources.  Agriculture alone provides livelihoods for more than 60% of the population.  The centrality of the agriculture sector is underscored because it is through this sector that diversified livelihoods policies that will be needed as a cornerstone of any successful counter-narcotics strategy can be addressed.  Afghanistan’s forest cover appears to have been cut in half since 1978 as a result of lack of energy alternatives to firewood and demand for timber in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  The depletion of forests and vegetation through illegal harvesting, widespread grazing, and dry land cultivation increases soil and riverbank erosion and draws down the water table.  Afghanistan’s urban environment has also deteriorated badly.  Solid waste, air pollution, and other hazards threaten the health and productivity of the urban population.

Contamination of the water aquifers through pollution and poor sanitation further depletes already scarce sources of clean drinking water; only 25% of Afghanistan’s available water is safe for drinking.  Lack of access to clean drinking water and poor sanitation is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality among Afghans.  Reduction of the water table also leads to decreased productivity of the land base and increased flood risk.  It causes hills around villages to become unstable, contributing to deadly mudslides.  Natural disasters are confronted on a recurrent basis—drought, earthquakes, disease epidemics, sandstorms, and extremely harsh winters all have a devastating effect, particularly on the poor.  Since 1998, more than 6.7 million Afghans have been affected by such natural disasters.  The Afghan people also must overcome the man-made disasters caused by landmines and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) that still cover hundreds of square kilometers of land.  All of these factors contribute to accelerated rural out-migration.  Environmental degradation in Afghanistan is both the result of and one of the causes of socio-economic inequities.

The Government has committed to environmental sustainability as part of Afghanistan’s MDGs, including integration of sustainable development principles into country policies and programs to reverse the loss of environmental resources.

The Government’s goal is to protect the environmental integrity of Afghanistan and to support sustainable development of natural resources through active participation by communities and the private sector in order to achieve economic growth supportive of peace-building, security, and equity.

Five-Year Strategic Benchmark

In line with Afghanistan’s MDGs, environmental regulatory frameworks and management services will be established for the protection of air and water quality, waste management and pollution control, and natural resource policies will be developed and implementation started at all levels of government, as well as at the community level by end-2007.

Key policies and coordination

The Government will coordinate environmental affairs at international, regional, national, and sub-national levels; develop and implement environmental laws, policies, and strategies in order to integrate ecological issues in development projects through the environmental impact assessment process; provide environmental management services for protection of air and water quality, waste management and pollution control; and raise awareness of environmental issues.  Impact assessments of projects that may degrade the environment should be made compulsory.  The government will also develop funding mechanisms for environmental protection, and as part of the strengthening of its policy monitoring capacity, develop statistics and measures of environmental quality and degradation, including data on air quality, water quality, and availability, and land use.

The National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) has overall responsibility for environmental protection issues.  Line ministries will have responsibility for implementation within individual sectors.  Coordination is effected through the Advisory Group on Environment (AGE).  Members of the group include key ministries, donors, UN agencies, and NGOs.  United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) were nominated as co-focal points of the AGE until sufficient capacity is built within NEPA to fulfill its mandate independently.

NEPA is working on creating three forums: a broad-based National Environmental Advisory Council consisting of ministers, provincial governors, tribal leaders, religious leader, and others; a Council of Eminent Persons that will extend membership to prominent national and international personalities to spearhead campaigns for the environment; and an Inter-ministerial Committee for Environment.

Strategies

Clarify responsibilities in the environmental arena and strengthen the capacity of NEPA.  Technical skills will continue to be strengthened across NEPA’s six divisions: International Environment Affairs; Research/Policy and Information; Implementation and Enforcement; Natural Heritage Protection; Environmental Assessment and Sustainable Development; Human Resources; and Finance.  The implementation of PRR Stage 2 will create an appropriate organizational structure for NEPA while allowing it to enhance technical and managerial capacity of its human resources.  This will also provide for additional resources for better wages.  Approval of the Environmental Management Act will provide legislative teeth to NEPA.  NEPA will utilize the environmental impact assessment process to integrate environmental considerations in all development projects across sectors.  The following are some areas that are being considered:

Develop and implement a legal and regulatory framework that ensures sustainable use of natural resources.  The introduction of environmental legislation is critical to effective management and protection, as is effective enforcement.  Key measures include establishing a taskforce on incorporating environmental ‘markers’ within the NDB and creating dedicated units in all relevant sector ministries.  Environment and natural resource-related international conventions and treaties ratified by Afghanistan will be disseminated and implemented by appropriate stakeholders.  To improve environmental quality, NEPA will begin development of proper waste disposal guidelines, monitoring of air and groundwater quality, and provision of safeguards to address resource abuse and ensure sustainability.  Government revision of land tenure and titling, as well as enforcement of rights, will increase ownership of and equitable access to natural resources, especially by nomads, the poor, and other vulnerable groups.  As part of its efforts to register and formalize land ownership, the government will develop a legal regime to regulate land use, including use of urban land, in accord with environmental principles.

Build environment and natural resource management capacity within line ministries.  In the short-term, NEPA and relevant line ministries will participate in environmental impact assessments undertaken as part of IFI-initiated infrastructure projects, including transportation, energy, sanitation, and water.  As NEPA’s own capacities are strengthened, it will work with line ministries to establish environmental policies and departments, which will eventually undertake Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) in their relevant sectors.  Identification of environmentally-sensitive areas, rural and urban, would help mark restricted settlement zones and alleviate environmental stress related to refugee returnees, IDPs, and general population growth.  Protected area management also will preserve potential eco-tourism sites for the future.

Initiate community-based management of natural resources.  Community-based programs will help restore degrading ecosystems, improve food security, and support counter-narcotics objectives.  In agriculture, the Government will undertake research on the production of suitable crops and establishment of mechanisms for the storage and disposal of agricultural chemicals.  NEPA will encourage further research on the feasibility of rehabilitating wetlands, measures to combat desertification, and identification of biodiversity regions.  Opportunities to establish state-led timber cooperatives should be explored (and could lead to better regulation of forest resources).  Ownership rights within forests and ranges also will be crucial to avoid conflict as well as better manage resources.  In urban and peri-urban areas, sectoral environmental management plans, above all for poor and vulnerable groups, need to be strengthened, including those on pollution and waste management.