Afghanistan Celebrates World Wildlife Day 2016

Kabul – For the first time ever, Afghanistan celebrated the international “World Wildlife Day” to raise awareness about the country’s wild diversity and the importance of protecting its species. This national-level event was organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), together with Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and marks an important step in raising awareness of wildlife conservation in the country.

Since 2002, UN Environment has supported the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to conserve and protect its environment and natural heritage. This has included working hand-in-hand with the Government to develop its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which is an essential component to protecting the country’s wildlife for current and future generations.

The World Wildlife Day 2016 event was attended by more than 40 persons, representing a wide cross-section of government, NGO, university, and local community members, and was held at the Kol-e-Hashmat Khan Waterfowl Reserve in Kabul, which is itself a wetland of international importance as a stopping point for seasonal migratory bird species traveling between South Asia and Central Asia. In addition, Afghanistan is home to a large variety of wildlife species, including snow leopards, Marco Polo sheep, ibex, markhor, black and brown bears, saker falcon, and more than 3,500 endemic plant species. However, years of conflict, illegal wildlife hunting and trading, habitat loss, and climate change led to many of them being endangered.

“Afghanistan is one of the richest countries in the world in regards to biological diversity,” stated Mr. Mohebullah Fazli from NEPA, “Afghanistan has more flora species than the whole of Europe, but unregulated exploitation, conflict, and poverty have greatly impacted our country’s natural resources over recent years.”

The celebration of World Wildlife Day 2016 marks the latest in a growing series of outreach events that UN Environment and NEPA are organizing in Afghanistan on a yearly basis to foster greater political will to address the country’s urgent environmental needs, as well as raise public awareness about environmental conservation. Afghanistan has already taken significant steps to protect its wildlife, including the declaration in June 2015 of its third nationally protected area in the important watershed area of the Shah Foladi mountains of the Central Highlands