Afghanistan Peace CampaignZainul Abideen Abid called on the international community not to politicize the issue of climate change and to engage with the Islamic Emirate on this matter.
The National Environmental Protection Agency, during its annual report presentation, said that significant progress has been made to resume ten projects in the fields of climate change and environmental protection, with a total value of $58.7 million.
Officials at the agency mentioned that over the past year, they have signed five Memorandums of Understanding worth $1 million with non-governmental organizations for the implementation of environmental projects.
The Deputy Director of the National Environmental Protection Agency has called on the international community not to politicize the issue of climate change and to engage with the Islamic Emirate on this matter.
Zainul Abideen Abid, the Deputy Director of the National Environmental Protection Agency, stated: “Unfortunately, 32 climate change projects have been suspended by international environmental financial mechanisms. After extensive efforts, 7 projects worth $27.54 million have been reinstated, and 3 new projects worth $31.16 million have been committed.”
According to the officials of this agency, climate change has also caused significant damage.
They reported that due to climate change, about 21 million people in the country do not have access to drinking water, 2.5 million people have been displaced from their main areas, and annually, farmers suffer damages worth $250 million in the agriculture sector.
The agency also added that to prevent and reduce environmental pollution, they have monitored over 22,000 locations, including townships, high-rise buildings, wedding halls, factories, and other various places.
Officials from the National Environmental Protection Agency further said that the smuggling of forests and wildlife in the country has been curbed, and in the past year, the smuggling of over 17,000 different species of birds has been prevented.
Rohullah Amin, the head of the climate change department of at the National Environmental Protection Agency, said: “Specifically, our agriculture sector suffers $250 million annually from the impacts of climate change. Similarly, the flood data indicates that we have an annual death toll of 270 people, and $300 million worth of our infrastructure is vulnerable due to floods.”
The officials of this agency hope that Afghanistan will be officially invited to participate in the annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29), which will be held in Azerbaijan, and that they can represent the country properly at this conference.