Afghanistan - Forestry



Afghanistan's timber has been greatly depleted, and since the mid-1980s, only about 3% of the land area has been forested, mainly in the east. Significant stands of trees have been destroyed by the ravages of the war. Exploitation has been hampered by lack of power and access roads. Moreover, the distribution of the forest is uneven, and most of the remaining woodland is presently found only in mountainous regions in the southeast and south. The natural forests in Afghanistan are mainly of two types: (1) dense forests, mainly of oak, walnut and other species of nuts that grow in the southeast, and on the northern and northeastern slopes of the Sulaiman ranges; and (2) sparsely distributed short trees and shrubs on all other slopes of the Hindu Kush. The dense forests of the southeast cover only 2.7% of the country. The destruction of the forests to create agricultural land, logging, forest fires, plant disease and insect pests are all causes of the reduction in forest coverage. However, the most important factor in this destructive process is illegal logging and clear-cuttings by timber smugglers. According to a report in 1997, two and half million cubic feet of lumber were smuggled out of Afghanistan between 1995 and 1996, and sold in Pakistan with permission from the Pakistani Government of that time. However, the unofficial numbers for the amount of lumber smuggled into Pakistan from Afghanistan is estimated to be much higher than this.

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