Soil Desertification in Afghanistan

What is the Issue?

In Afghanistan, one of the major problems is desertification. Desertification is land degradation of land caused by various factors. More than 70% of Afghanistan land is highly vulnerable to Desertification.  With Desertification being such a problem, it has been partially responsible for the droughts over the past years. With very little water over the past years, it has been very hard for the farmers to produce crops. More than a quarter of the Afghan population, 9 million, are facing a shortage of food and it has left small farmers all over Northern Afghanistan facing hunger.

Reasons for The Problem
The six main reasons for Desertification in Afghanistan are; increased fire frequency, water impoundment, deforestation, overdrafting of groundwater, increased soil salinity and global climate change. Over the past 25 years, Afghanistan has cut down countless trees and have destroyed countless forests. 70 percent of Afghanistan's throughout the country have been cut down in the past 2 decades, and forests helped regulate ground water levels.In the 1980's the Afghan government stated that 19,000 sqkm of 652,225 sqkm of land was covered by forest, which is a great source of income for the government and it's citizens. Recently, avalanches, landslides and floods have increased due to the high rate of deforestation. Also with desertification becoming a great threat to Afghanistan, many families are using trees as fire wood and for heat. Cooking has also raised the problem of land degradation which needs certain supplies of fuel and adds pressure to the depleted forests.

What is being done?


Biodiversity has been greatly threatened by desertification and some countries, such as Afghanistan has set up Biodiversity Action Plans to help slow down the rate of deforesting and desertification. Afghanistan is also trying out a process called Fruit Trees and Bees. Fruit Trees and Bees in a foundation that was brought together to help Afghan families out. If you donate $20 to the organization, an Afghan family with be provided shelter and 10 fruit trees.
Another way that is being done to help desertification in Afghanistan is places stones around trees and digging grooves around the trees which will help the survival of crops. Stacking stones around trees help collect due in the night which helps retain soil moisture. The grooves that are dug around the trees help collect rain water and trap wind-blown seeds.




Resources:

"Agriculture, Farming, Fruit Plantations, Honey, Afforestation in Afghanistan to Combat Desertification - Shelter Now." Humanitarian Aid in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Reconstruction, Development Aid - Shelter Now. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. <http://www.shelter-now.org/people-projects/fruit-trees-bees/>.

"IRIN Asia | AFGHANISTAN: Environmental Crisis Looms as Conflict Goes on | Afghanistan | Early Warning | Environment | Natural Disasters | Conflict." IRIN • Humanitarian News and Analysis from Africa, Asia and the Middle East - Updated Daily. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. <http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=73481>.

"Areas Highly Vulnerable to Desertification in Asia." Global Issues in Context Online Collection. Detroit: Gale. Global Issues In Context. Web. 22 Oct. 2010