THE ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS OF WAR
A quarter century of conflict and war has rendered Afghanistan one of the most
environmentally damaged nations on the Earth, and now, Afghanistan's
environmental degradation is considered a stumbling block to its development.
"Our evergreen forests have been diminished in the last twenty-five years by 40-
50%, or in some places 60%. Our pistachio forests in Badghis and Takhar in the
north are gone, or at least 9 0 % of them are lost," says Yusuf Nuristani, Afghanistan's
minister of irrigation, water resources and environment.
A recent report by the United Nations Environment Program warns that
Afghanistan faces a future without forests, clean water, wildlife or unpolluted air if
current trends are not reversed. The report says Afghanistan's environmental
damage is a "major stumbling block" to reconstruction and development. It is not
only Afghanistan's forests that are disappearing though. Five years of drought and
the destruction of a centuries-old canal network have left many Afghans without
clean drinking water or water for irrigation. The UN report says even the good news,
such as the return of more than one million refugees to Afghanistan last year, has
hurt the environment, choking major cities with exhaust fumes and overloading the
sewer systems.
Mr Nuristani says a quarter century of war has left his country environmentally
devastated. "Right now, we are in a mess. The drought, the war, the neglect and the
low level of understanding among the people about the environment have caused all
these problems. So we have to intervene right now in whatever way we can," he
said.
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