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ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
AFGHANISTAN
MDG7
Progress Towards Environmental Sustainability
The MDGs involve a new approach to Afghanistan’s development. Basing
PAKISTAN
many socio-economic policies around the needs of Afghan women, for
example, reflects a radical change. In terms of environmental sustainability,
Afghanistan faces acute challenges. In addition to decades of conflict that have aggravated the poor conditions
of the environment, population growth has exacerbated the situation. Afghanistan’s urban population is increasing
at an alarming rate. Kabul’s population alone has increased more than eight-fold over 25 years. At the present
rate, the total urban population is expected to more than double by 2015. Achieving the MDG targets of access to clean
drinking water and significantly improving the lives of slum dwellers will prove to be a difficult task if urban population
keeps increasing at this rapid pace.
Already, Afghanistan ranks the lowest in the world in terms of access to safe drinking water. Moreover, wastewater collection by
sewerage systems is limited to a few large cities and only partially treated. Intermittent piped water service, inadequate water treatment,
and contamination of groundwater have resulted in a precarious sanitary situation. Poor sanitary conditions pose threats to
health and poverty reduction efforts in Afghanistan. The sanitation situation in cities coupled with an urban explosion will certainly
hamper the Government’s efforts towards achieving several MDGs.
IRAN
TURKMENISTAN
Herat
AFGHANISTAN
Kandahar
UZBEKISTAN
TAJIKISTAN
Mazar-i-Sharif
Kabul
CHINA
QUICK FACTS
CURRENT PORTFOLIO BUDGET
Total UNDP and Co-Finance: $216,000
Total: $216,000
Immediate challenges to achieving MDG 7 in Afghanistan include
reducing the population growth rate, accommodating the influx of
refugees, considerably improving sanitation, and providing more
people with access to safe drinking water. 1
SPOTLIGHT
Building Capacity for Environmental Protection 2
Afghanistan has faced continuous environmental hurdles and challenges. The conflict in 2001 and continued neglect associated
with harsh natural conditions have led to a range of environmental problems in urban and rural areas throughout the country,
including lack of effective water resource management, poor waste management, deforestation, increased urban pollution, topsoil
erosion, loss of vegetation cover, dispersed wildlife patterns, reduced air quality and a lack of safe artesian water. Unexploded ordinance
and mines further exacerbate the current situation.
It is now critical to institute effective environmental protection in the country to reverse and prevent further degradation and ensure
the conservation of the environment for the use of future generations. In mid-2004,a GEF-supported project began the initial stages
for the development of an initiative to define the environmental capacity needs of the country. The first project, Capacity
Development for Sustainable Land Management, was agreed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Food, the
National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), and UNDP, signalling the beginning of a focus on environmental concerns, in
spite of the ongoing security issues that still permeate the country. Such projects promote stronger links between other actors in
the region, for example, the Greening Afghanistan (GAIN) Initiative, which is working to ensure tree survival and monitoring of their
growth, established an office at the Ministry of Agriculture and an advisory board comprising the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural
Resources & Food, NEPA, and UNEP, strengthening links between all these agencies.
By paving the way for these environmental initiatives,individual projects such as the GAIN initiative can mobilize community efforts.
LAND
Further projects include the development of an environmental portfolio dedicated solely to categorizing environmental projects.
These initiatives are key stepping-stones to evaluating the types of environmental protection that is necessary for the well-being
of the people and long-term environmental management in Afghanistan.
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