Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Afghanistan and Environmental challenges

Afghanistan and  Environmental challenges

Afghanistan is one of the most vulnerable and poorest countries in the world. The country is highly influenced by political, economic, and social factors, exacerbated by pressures of environmental and ecological risks that make it impossible to overcome undesirable conditions in the long-term.

The path to development, reconstruction, social development and economic development in Afghanistan has reached important milestones but at a cost of ignoring Afghanistan’s environmental and ecosystem issues.

The environment is one of the most pervasive core components of sustainable development focusing on environment and ecological challenges which impacts in a global fashion. Environmental protection is one of the key factors to a sustainable plan of development consistent with the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). In the 21st century, in the wake of climate change and global warming, today all countries, particularly those most vulnerable developing countries focus on significant energy and policies to draw attention to environment issues. 

Environment as vital part of human life, one of the main pillars of sustainable development, in the most obvious terms, ‘better environment’ equates to a better life style, and correlated to standard of living and quality of life. Environmental protection has become central to development agendas in developed and developing countries.

The environment has direct, inter-disciplinary relationship with economic and social dimensions in a sustainable development approach, and is considered as parallel sector along with development and physical improvement of society.

The Afghan government, as part of the international community, is committed to focus on environmental issues and has signed international conventions and treaties such as Rio Convention, the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and also commit to enact environmental rules and regulations recommended by such agencies.  However, so far the government is only taking gradual or incremental steps which cannot ensure protection of environmental and ecosystems as well as sufficiently address conservation issues.

Afghanistan faces a critical environmental situation, air pollution has remained as huge challenge, climate change, deforestation, environmental degradation and rapidly increasing population with missing strategic environment assessment in development projects, lack of professional staff in National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), inadequate budget allocation, weak governance, absence of civil society. In terms of environmental activism, Afghan civil society organizations and international non-governmental organizations have not been as proactive as necessary and rather have acted too slowly and reluctantly due to a variety of factors. The ‘environmental’ component of our national agenda and priorities is still missing, both from the government and non-governmental sectors.

Over the past 30 years both developed and developing countries have implemented and refined Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes so now they are commonplace and accepted by society in general as one way to improve environmental conditions through the development agenda.  However, during this period Afghanistan has been subject to significant conflict which caused to fall behind in global trends. 

In Afghanistan, there are several sets of environmental problems in addition to serious security and other social problems. It will be a big challenge to overcome and address all problems simultaneously regards with insufficient profession of human capital and financial constraints.

In general there is a shortage of professionals and experts in Afghan governmental bodies and particularly this issue is clearly apparent and acceptable in NEPA. Lack of experts, improper recoding and weak bureaucracy system, lack of coordination between related organizations, and lack of capacity building opportunity are all factors holding back the EIA progress in most development project in Afghanistan, and it will become a threat if it is not undermined in development process. NEPA must be strengthened to follow up the EIA rules and documentation process and train its provincial staff to undertake EIA procedures in development projects.