KABUL (SW): The forest cover in Afghanistan improved from less than 2 per cent to close to 3 per cent in recent years, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) noted on Sunday.
Officials stated that some forty years ago, the country had up to 3 per cent of its area i.e. approximately 1.99 million hectors under forest cover. It was stated that some 95 per cent of this forest cover was made up of natural forests while five per cent was manmade.
Over the years, rages of war, poverty and climate change caused erosion of vast swaths of forest. According to officials, half of some 450 thousands hectors of pistachio forests have been lost to these factors.
Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad Aman Amanyar, director forest affairs at MAIL, said rigorous efforts in the past 16 years to improve forest cover has yielded positive results, particularly reviving the pistachio and pine forests, and extending greenbelts around major cities in the country. He added up to two million new trees are distributed and planted on yearly basis.
Abdul Wali Mudaqiq, director at the National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA), said on the occasion that the figures provided by the MAIL about improvement in forest cover are inflated. He stressed it is vital to curb the illegal logging and smuggling of timber. It was noted that the forests in Khost, Paktia, Paktika, Laghman, Kunar and Nooristan have particularly seen the damages, and continue to do so.
ENDS
