Biodiversity Profile of Afghanistan - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

Foreword
It. is. saddening. to. see. the. degradation. of.
Afghanistan’s.biological.diversity,.to.the.detriment.
of.our.country’s.sustainable.development...Drought.
and. mismanagement. of. our. precious. water.
resources. are. affecting. agricultural. productivity.
and. the. health. of. our. families,. desertification. is.
reducing.the.carrying.capacity.of.our.land,.and.
the.unsustainable.harvesting.of.our.precious.forest.
resources.marks.the.loss.of.a.national.treasure.
It. is. in. this. context. that. the. Government. of.
the. Islamic. Republic. of. Afghanistan. has. paid.
considerable. attention. to. environmental. issues.
in. recent. years.. . The. National. Environmental.
Protection.Agency.(NEPA).has.been.established.as.
an.independent.agency.with.the.goal.to.“protect.
the. environmental. integrity. of. Afghanistan. and.
support. sustainable. development. of. its. natural.
resources. through. the. provision. of. effective.
environmental.policies,.regulatory.frameworks.and.
management. services. that. are. also. in. line. with.
the. Afghanistan. Millennium. Development. Goals.
(MDGs)”.. . The. Ministry. of. Agriculture,. Irrigation.
and.Livestock.(MAIL).has.recently.completed.its.
10-Year.Agricultural.Master.Plan.and.associated.
Implementation.and.Investment.Programme.(IIP),.
identifying. natural. resources. as. one. of. the. key.
cross-cutting.priorities...
The.Afghan.Government.has.also.fully.recognized.
the.important.role.that.the.Afghan.people.have.
for Global Environment Management (NCSA) for Afghanistan
to. play. in. the. conservation. of. our. biological.
heritage.. . Living. alongside. biological. resources.
and. interacting. with. them. on. a. daily. basis,. the.
active.participation.of.local.communities.in.natural.
resource. management. plans. and. strategies. is.
considered.essential.
Since.2002,.UNEP.has.provided.consistent.support.
to.institutional.strengthening.and.capacity.building.
within.the.environmental.field...This.report.represents.
one. example. of. the. important. outputs. that.
have. been. generated. during. this. period.. . This.
report,. Biodiversity. Profile. of. Afghanistan,. 2008,.
provides. the. first-ever. comprehensive. review. of.
the. status. of. biodiversity. that. has. been. carried.
out.in.Afghanistan...The.Afghan.Government.and.
international.community.alike.will.benefit.greatly.
from. this. report. as. environmental. management.
policies.are.debated,.approved.and.implemented..
On.behalf.of.the.Government.of.the.Islamic.Republic.
of. Afghanistan,. we. urge. readers. to. take. note. of.
Afghanistan’s.rich.biological.diversity,.recognize.the.
serious.threats.that.face.this.important.resource,.and.
join.forces.to.ensure.that.this.rich.natural.heritage.
is.not.lost.to.Afghanistan.forever.
Obaidullah.Ramin.
Minister.of.Agriculture,.
Irrigation.and.Livestock
Mostapha.Zaher.
Director-General.of.the.National..
Environmental.Protection.Agency