Wildlife of Afghanistan

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Afghanistan has long been known for its rich and diverse wildlife, as recorded in the memoirs of Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty that ruled the country from 1483 to 1530.

For the majority of people in Afghanistan, natural resources are the source of their livelihood and the basis of their existence. “Virtually the entire land surface of Afghanistan has been used for centuries – whether for local farming or, on a more wide-reaching basis, for livestockgrazing, fuelwood collection and hunting”, says Pekka Haavisto, Chairman of the Afghanistan Task Force of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and former Finnish Minister for Environment. In 2003 a Post-Conflict Environment Assessment Report, revelaed how warfare in Afghanistan had degraded the environment. The report partly also focus on the dramatic decrease of wildlife due to poaching, and outlines ways to respond to these threats.

Many of the larger mammals in the country are categorized by IUCN as globally threatened. These include snow leopard, the markhor, Marco Polo sheep, urial, and Asiatic black bear. Other species of interest are e.g. ibex, wolf, and brown bear. Most of the Marco Polo and Ibex are being poached for food, whereas wolves, Snow leopards and bears are being killed for demage prevention.

The fur, however, is being sold to aid workers and foreign soldiers as souvenir on local markets.

With two million returning refugees in 2002 and a further 1.5 million expected in 2003, pressure on Afghanistan’s natural resources are set to increase further. The UNEP Report makes it clear that environmental restoration must play a major part in the reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan