Please invest in Our Daily Planet today, by making a one time or monthly contribution.
We do not charge our readers a subscription fee for our content. We want to continue to grow our readership, particularly among millennials and public servants. Voluntary contributions from readers will help us employ interns and freelance journalists, expand our content, and reach a larger audience.
If you make a contribution of $150 or more, you will become an official “Friend of the Planet” and receive a Friend of the Planet T-shirt or water bottle.
Our Daily Planet is a daily morning email (M-F) to keep you informed of the stories shaping our environment. If these issues matter to you, we’d like to be the best ten minutes of your morning.
As Stefanie Glinski reported for the Thomson Reuters Foundation this week, large-scale deforestation in Afghanistan, due primarily to the past 40 years of war, has advanced flooding in the country (as trees prevent soil erosion and serve as a buffer against flooding). According to Glinski, “Trees have long been casualties of extreme poverty and war in Afghanistan, with many people in remote areas having little choice but to cut down forests to build houses, fuel stoves and keep warm in winter.” It’s estimated that over the past three decades, Afghanistan has lost 40% of its trees.
Why This Matters: This deforestation-induced flooding has grave consequences on the population. As Glinski noted, this deforestation is “prompting many in rural areas to move to the capital Kabul or leave the country.” And, as Al Jazeera reported last month, flooding in the northern and eastern parts of the country caused the deaths of “at least 100 people.” This mix of deforestation and climate change-induced deluges inundating parts of Asia will continue to claim needless lives. These impacts must be mitigated, in part through reforestation efforts.
A History of Deforestation: As Rejendra Aryal, country representative to the UN FAO, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, “Nearly 70% of the original forest cover has been lost since the 1950s.” According to Aryal, the most recent count of forest cover was taken in 2010, and more trees have definitely been cut down since then.
This is a gargantuan problem. As Glinski reported, “Environmentalists say forests prevent soil erosion and act as a buffer against flooding, while barren land is less able to hold the water from heavy rains and snowmelt, resulting in flash floods.” These flash floods, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration reported for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, “nearly 1.2 million people in Afghanistan have been forced from their homes by natural disasters such as floods and droughts since 2012.”
Protecting Afghanistan’s Forests: While reforestation is crucial in helping fight climate change as well as climate-related disasters such as flooding, it’s critical to protect the nation’s forests so that these efforts aren’t made in vain.
Many homes in Afghanistan lack insulation and modern heating systems thus forests are felled as a source of heating and energy for households. And while commercial timber harvesting is illegal in Afghanistan, deforestation is driven by a wood smuggling industry that’s largely sold to neighboring Pakistan. Decades of war and drought have made deforestation profitable in Afghanistan, in fact, it’s now generating a growing income for Islamic State militants.
“Local authorities are aware of the problem but say that a lack of government control in the districts in question means it is hard for them to take any action. They say appeals to central government for assistance have gone unanswered, meaning vast quantities of valuable timber continues to be smuggled out of the country.”
This is something that needs to be on the radar of the international community as we know the loss of nature is a threat multiplier and climate disasters are known drivers of human conflict.
By Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer Earlier this year, Ecuador’s new President Guillermo Lasso issued decrees to expand oil and mining projects in the Amazon. Indigenous communities from the country’s rainforest are now suing the government in an effort to stop these projects, calling them a “policy of death,” according to reporting by Reuters. Community […]
By Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer The giant sequoia trees in California’s Sequoia National Park are over 1,000 years old and could live another 2,000 years, but climate change-fueled fires are killing them. The trees can usually withstand the flames, but the intensity of recent fires has been overpowering. Last year’s Castle Fire killed up […]
By Amy Lupica, ODP Daily Editor As wildfires and deforestation grip the Amazon rainforest, Indigenous communities are urging world governments to pledge to protect 80% of the forest by 2025. The groups launched their campaign at a biodiversity conference in France, where experts from around the world are laying the groundwork for the UN’s delayed […]
Subscribe to the email that top lawmakers, renowned scientists, and thousands of concerned citizens turn to each morning for the latest environmental news and analysis.
Want the lastest climate news summarized for you each morning?
Our Daily Planet is your daily dose of the stories shaping our world and the ways that you can take action. From the climate crisis to the protection of biodiversity, if these issues matter to you then please subscribe & stay informed!
Your privacy is Important! We promise never to use your email address to send you spam or advertisements.