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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Camels in Dasht-i-Nawar Waterfowl Sanctuary, Ghazni Province. This Sanctuary has no legal or effective protection <strong>and</strong> is increasingly<br />
being affected by heavy grazing<br />
Dasht-i-Nawar. is. located. in. south-central.<br />
<strong>Afghanistan</strong>.in.Nawur.woleswali.<strong>of</strong>.Ghazni.Province..<br />
The. wetl<strong>and</strong>. can. be. reached. by. the. unpaved.<br />
Jaghatoo. road. (ca.. 112. km). from. the. town. <strong>of</strong>.<br />
Ghazni. via. the. Shamsuddin. Pass.. An. alternative.<br />
<strong>and</strong>.shorter.route.(ca..65.km).follows.an.unpaved.<br />
road.that.breaks.away.from.the.Ghazni-K<strong>and</strong>ahar.<br />
highway. near. the. town. <strong>of</strong>. Moqur.. The. dasht. is.<br />
located.at.ca..3,350.m.elevation..<br />
The. hydrology. <strong>of</strong>. the. Nawar. catchment. is. very.<br />
poorly. known. <strong>and</strong>. no. water. flow. data. exist.<br />
(Petocz.2006)..Water.in.Lake.Ab-i-Nawar.is.almost.<br />
completely. dependent. on. snow. melt. from. the.<br />
surrounding.mountains..The.water.volume.<strong>of</strong>.Abi-Nawar.was.estimated.to.vary.annually.between.<br />
2.-.20.million.m 3 .in.the.early.1970s.(Nogge.1974.<br />
in.Shank.<strong>and</strong>.Rodenburg.1977)..In.recent.years,.<br />
the.lake.has.<strong>of</strong>ten.dried.up.entirely.by.summer.or.<br />
autumn..However,.water.is.retained.in.small.ponds.<br />
<strong>and</strong>. streams. created. by. spring. waters. located.<br />
near.villages.on.the.west.side.<strong>of</strong>.the.dasht..A.small.<br />
permanent.dam,.the.Bahaee.dam.(500m.x.150m.<br />
x.12m),.was.constructed.<strong>and</strong>.completed.in.2005.<br />
by.the.Ghazni.Provincial.Rehabilitation.Team.(PRT).<br />
in.the.upper.reaches.<strong>of</strong>.the.Khafak.River.valley..<br />
In.April.2006.the.dam.held.a.reservoir.<strong>of</strong>.about.<br />
424,000.cu.metres.<strong>of</strong>.water..All.<strong>of</strong>.the.water.from.<br />
the.reservoir.is.currently.channeled.<strong>and</strong>.directed.<br />
by.canal.systems.for.irrigation.<strong>and</strong>.local.use,.<strong>and</strong>.<br />
no.longer.supplies.Ab-i-Nawar.(Petocz.2006a)..<br />
Dasht-i-Nawar. serves. as. an. important. breeding.<br />
<strong>and</strong>. staging. ground. for. a. large. number. <strong>of</strong>.<br />
migratory.waterfowl.<strong>and</strong>.waders..There.are.records.<br />
<strong>of</strong>.breeding.populations.<strong>of</strong>.avocets.(Recurvirosta<br />
avocetta),. redshanks. (Tringa totanus),. greater.<br />
s<strong>and</strong>plovers. (Charadrius leschenaultia),. <strong>and</strong>.<br />
common.terns.(Sterna hirundo).(Klockenh<strong>of</strong>f.<strong>and</strong>.<br />
Madel.1970.in.Shank.&.Rodenburg.1977)..The.area.<br />
is.the.world’s.highest.elevation.breeding.ground.<br />
for. the. Greater. Flamingo.. Flamingo. presence.<br />
<strong>and</strong>. breeding. success. is. highly. variable. <strong>and</strong>.<br />
dependent.upon.water.levels..Petocz.<strong>and</strong>.Habibi.<br />
(1975).report.seeing.1,200.adults.in.1974..<strong>UNEP</strong>.<br />
(2003a). stated. that. flamingoes. had. not. bred.<br />
between. 1998. <strong>and</strong>. 2002. because. <strong>of</strong>. drought.<br />
conditions..Petocz.(2006a).reported.seeing.2,500.<br />
flamingoes.in.April.2006,.but.by.June.the.water.<br />
had.dried.up.<strong>and</strong>.no.birds.were.seen..<br />
Freitag.(1986).reports.a.remarkable.case.<strong>of</strong>.plant.<br />
endemism. from. Dasht-i-Nawar.. He. found. four.<br />
species.(Cousinia ammophila, Fibigia compacta,<br />
Astragalus (Aegacantha) antheliophorus. <strong>and</strong>.<br />
Pipatherum rechingeri).confined.to.a.1.km².s<strong>and</strong>.<br />
field.. He. concluded. that. these. psammophytic.<br />
(i.e..s<strong>and</strong>-loving).endemics.evolved.from.nearby.<br />
42 An Output <strong>of</strong> the National Capacity Needs Self-Assessment
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