Biodiversity Profile of Afghanistan - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP
Biodiversity Profile of Afghanistan - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP
Biodiversity Profile of Afghanistan - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP
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<strong>and</strong>. Indo-Malayan. Realms.. Although. the.<br />
majority.<strong>of</strong>.species.are.Palaearctic.in.origin,.<br />
many.Indo-Malayan.species.have.dispersed.<br />
into.<strong>Afghanistan</strong>.<br />
5.. The.size.<strong>of</strong>.a.country.influences.the.number.<strong>of</strong>.<br />
species.found.in.its.borders..Thus.neighbouring.<br />
Iran,. which. is. nearly. twice. as. large. as.<br />
<strong>Afghanistan</strong>,.will.tend.to.have.more.species..<br />
6.. The.number.<strong>of</strong>.species.in.an.ecosystem.tends.to.<br />
be.greatest.at.moderate.levels.<strong>of</strong>.productivity,.<br />
with.fewer.species.in.areas.<strong>of</strong>.very.high.or.very.<br />
low. productivity.. <strong>Afghanistan</strong>. is. a. dry,. high.<br />
altitude.<strong>and</strong>.human.disturbed.country.with.low.<br />
primary.productivity..Consequently,.<strong>Afghanistan</strong>.<br />
is.predisposed.to.having.relatively.few.species..<br />
7.. <strong>Afghanistan</strong>.is.a.continental.country.with.no.<br />
major. mountain. barriers. to. the. north. <strong>and</strong>.<br />
west,. allowing. the. free. mixing. <strong>of</strong>. species. <strong>of</strong>.<br />
Palaearctic.origin.with.neighbouring.countries..<br />
Consequently,.<strong>Afghanistan</strong>.has.relatively.few.<br />
endemic.animal.species.<br />
8.. <strong>Afghanistan</strong>. is. a. l<strong>and</strong>-locked. country. <strong>and</strong>.<br />
therefore.lacks.marine.biodiversity..<br />
A.number.<strong>of</strong>.databases.list.the.number.<strong>of</strong>.Afghan.<br />
species,. but. they. differ. from. one. another. <strong>and</strong>.<br />
are. usually. not. explicit. on. their. data. sources..<br />
Appendices.1.-.8.are.checklists.<strong>of</strong>.Afghan.mammals,.<br />
birds,. reptiles,. amphibians,. insects,. lichens. <strong>and</strong>.<br />
fungi,.incorporating.the.latest.available.information.<br />
<strong>and</strong>.taxonomy..The.vertebrate.checklists.are.very.<br />
Table.8. Number.<strong>of</strong>.Species.Known.<br />
. . . . to.Exist.in.<strong>Afghanistan</strong><br />
Known<br />
Species<br />
Uncertain<br />
Species<br />
Estimates<br />
Mammals 137 13<br />
Birds 428 87<br />
Reptiles 92 20<br />
Amphibians 6 2<br />
Fish 101 38<br />
Insects 10s <strong>of</strong> 1,000s<br />
Vascular<br />
3,500<br />
Plants<br />
– 4,000<br />
Lichens 208 ?<br />
Fungi 1,000s<br />
conservative.in.that.they.include.only.species.for.<br />
which.there.are.citable.references.for.occurrence.<br />
in.<strong>Afghanistan</strong>..Many.other.species.are.suspected.<br />
to. occur. in. <strong>Afghanistan</strong>,. but. no. authority. citing.<br />
first-h<strong>and</strong>.evidence.could.be.found..Table.7.is.a.<br />
summary.<strong>of</strong>.these.checklists..It.suggests.that.there.<br />
are.789.-.916.species.<strong>of</strong>.vertebrates.in.<strong>Afghanistan</strong>.<br />
<strong>and</strong>.3,500.–.4,000.species.<strong>of</strong>.vascular.plants..<br />
12.1 Mammals<br />
The.definitive.work.on.Afghan.mammals.is.Habibi’s.<br />
Mammals <strong>of</strong> <strong>Afghanistan</strong>.(2003),.also.available.in.<br />
Dari..Habibi.notes.that.knowledge.<strong>of</strong>.<strong>Afghanistan</strong>’s.<br />
mammal. fauna. is. quite. limited,. having. resulted.<br />
largely.from.a.series.<strong>of</strong>.zoological.expeditions.<strong>and</strong>.<br />
by.the.Food.<strong>and</strong>.Agriculture.Organisation.<strong>of</strong>.the.<br />
United.Nations.(FAO)..Little.work.has.been.done.<br />
since.the.outbreak.<strong>of</strong>.war.in.1978..<br />
Appendix.1.is.a.complete.listing.<strong>of</strong>.known.mammalian.<br />
species. in. <strong>Afghanistan</strong>.. Considerable. revision.<br />
<strong>of</strong>. mammalian. nomenclature. has. occurred. in.<br />
recent.years,.particularly.for.bats.<strong>and</strong>.rodents..The.<br />
st<strong>and</strong>ardized.order.<strong>of</strong>.listing.families.is.based.on.Dunn.<br />
<strong>and</strong>.Lawson.(2004)..A.total.<strong>of</strong>.137.species.are.known.<br />
to. occur. in. <strong>Afghanistan</strong>. with. another. 13. species.<br />
having. uncertain. status.. There. are. no. mammal.<br />
species.known.to.be.endemic.to.<strong>Afghanistan</strong>.<br />
Sixteen.<strong>of</strong>.<strong>Afghanistan</strong>’s.mammal.species.are.listed.<br />
on.the.IUCN.Red.List.as.being.globally.at.threat..Most.<br />
<strong>of</strong>.these.species.are.carnivores.<strong>and</strong>.artiodactyls..<br />
Twelve. Afghan. mammal. species. are. on. CITES.<br />
Appendix.I,.<strong>and</strong>.13.are.on.Appendix.II..Many.more.<br />
Afghan. species. are. threatened. at. the. national.<br />
scale,.but.no.formal.process.has.assessed.the.status.<br />
<strong>of</strong>.Afghan.species..Two.species.(the.cheetah.<strong>and</strong>.<br />
tiger).are.known.to.be.extirpated.in.<strong>Afghanistan</strong>,.but.<br />
a.detailed.assessment.would.probably.extend.this.<br />
list..Appendix.1.includes.Habibi’s.(2003).subjective.<br />
assessment.<strong>of</strong>.national.scale.risk.status.as.well.as.<br />
CITES.<strong>and</strong>.IUCN.Red.List.status.<br />
Habibi. (2003). provides. distribution. maps. <strong>and</strong>.<br />
collection.localities.for.each.species..It.is.evident,.<br />
though,. that. the. distribution. maps. are. based.<br />
on. very. few. collection. or. observation. sites.. As.<br />
well,. the. only. data. are. now. decades. old. <strong>and</strong>.<br />
Habibi’s.distribution.maps.are.best.considered.as.<br />
“potential”.or.“historical”.ranges..The.expectation.<br />
2 An Output <strong>of</strong> the National Capacity Needs Self-Assessment
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