First Steps in Addressing Land Degradation in Afghanistan

Farming and livestock production are the main economic livelihoods in Afghanistan and each depends on access to the country's vast network of rangelands. Since the Soviet invasion in 1980, many of the rangeland areas have come under pressure in the form of woody plant removal and their conversion to rain-fed agriculture. The result has been fewer options for extensive livestock grazing and rangeland degradation and a loss of biodiversity in more extreme situations. The Afghanistan PEACE Project was initiated in 2006 with the aim of helping to improve livestock production and management of Afghanistan's rangeland areas. One component of the PEACE Project addressing both goals involved the development of a conflict resolution program. The purpose of this program was to help solve land-use conflicts between farmers and herders using non-traditional methods and it is based on the premise that until these issues are resolved on the ground using skilled facilitators, there will be few opportunities for improvement of Afghanistan's livestock industry or its rangelands. The PEACE conflict resolution program involved training leaders from both sides of the issue, in communication, facilitation, conflict resolution and peace building techniques and supporting them while they worked to facilitate the resolution of the more important land-use conflicts. The training was accomplished in partnership with an Afghan non-governmental organization and the Government of Afghanistan. Since May 2010, 52 peace ambassadors have been working together in 6 regions of the country. To date, these ambassadors have successfully solved 244 land-use and 234 social Currently, 80% of Afghanistan's population resides in rural areas and of these, 5% are considered to be transhumant pastoralists (NRVA, 2005). The estimated percentage of livestock owned by Afghanistan's pastoralist's, ranges from 50% to 75%. Key to the resilience of Afghanistan's pastoralists during times of conflict and peace is their capacity to adapt to changing circumstances as well as living a relatively mobile lifestyle to meet the dietary needs of their stock. With 70-85% of Afghanistan qualifying as rangeland, this use of the landscape and lifestyle easily makes sense. Livestock production in Afghanistan involves both intensive and extensive production strategies. Intensive production involves supplemental feeding of crop residues and grazing of both stubble fields and rangeland areas, with either type of grazing opportunity occurring primarily adjacent to a village or residence. This strategy is primarily observed in settled communities and its purpose is to supply the dietary needs of a household first. Extensive production, in contrast, involves moving ones stock from one rangeland area to another in order to meet the dietary needs of the stock. If there is supplemental feeding, it involves the collection and stockpiling of naturally cured native plants for supplemental feeding during Afghanistan's long and often harsh winters. Afghanistan's transhumant pastoralist's, the Kuchi, rely on this method almost exclusively and for the majority, extensive livestock production is their primary economic livelihood. Extensive livestock production is also of import to Afghanistan's national economy. In a survey conducted by Texas A&M University in 2010, it was observed that the Kuchi were responsible for supplying approximately 75% of the small stock sold in Afghanistan's livestock markets (Schloeder and Jacobs, 2010). The Kuchi are also the principal suppliers to the wool and hide industries in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan.