In Afghanistan, the environment has been one of the most neglected subjects in the eyes of the public and in the media, even though the country is undergoing one of the most catastrophic environmental crises due to decades of war, massive population displacements, continuous drought, and deforestation. Zan Times is determined to produce content and facilitate discussion on this important issue.
We interviewed Kazim Homayoon, the former director of planning and policy at the National Environment Protection Agency and an expert on Afghanistan’s environmental issues. Homayoon has also worked at a senior level for the Kabul municipality. He is currently living in the Netherlands, working as a climate change expert.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Zan Times: Mr. Kazim Homayoon, we are very grateful for accepting the invitation of Zan Times for an interview.
Kazim Homayoon: I also thank you for your interest in the environment and the Earth!
ZT: What is your definition of environment in simple language?
Homayoon: I believe that so far we do not have a comprehensive definition of the environment for two reasons. One is that environmental science consists of different social and natural sciences, each providing definitions from its own perspective. For example, biologists have defined the environment through evolution, chemists from the point of view of chemical compounds, or sociologists from the sociological perspective. Even journalists have provided definitions through “green journalism.” Another thing is that the environment has always been viewed from the point of view of humans. Therefore, other species are ignored, which provides an incomplete picture. However, in the definition of the Council of the European Union, it is stated, “”Environment is all non-human environments.”
ZT: What environmental concerns exist in Afghanistan and how do they impact people’s lives?
Homayoon: According to data published annually by the Central Bureau of Statistics, 70 to 75 percent of the people of Afghanistan — about 28 million people, mostly rural people — earn their livings through agriculture and animal husbandry. Currently, the main problem in Afghanistan is a shortage of water caused by climate change and the excessive and incorrect use of water resources. Water shortage is directly negatively impacting agriculture and animal husbandry and causes tension between the communities living in lower altitude and higher altitude. It causes migration from rural areas to urban areas. Urbanization of rural people transforms them from producers to consumers and results in pauperization. It also causes migration of people out of the country.
Another concern is the melting of the glaciers. In the Pamirs, almost 40 percent of glaciers have been lost. Other problems include rapid soil erosion, increased floods, and the increased gravel, which causes plant, animal, and human diseases, and other environmental concerns. Deforestation, fires in forests and bushes, reduction of bird population results in the disturbance of the process of pollination of plants and trees, which leads to a shortage of agricultural products and fruits. These crises have put Afghanistan in a particular vulnerable situation.
ZT: What factors have caused the environmental crisis in Afghanistan?
Homayoon: Global warming is having a devastating impact on Afghanistan and South Asia. Of course, several internal factors play a role in aggravating this crisis, including the lack of political will, population increase and high population density, lack of expertise, the lack of environmental awareness among people, widespread corruption, non-implementation of environmental protection laws, and conflict between environmental laws and other laws.
ZT: Is there a relationship between the environmental crisis and other social crises, such as class and gender gap?
Homayoon: Naturally, there is a direct relationship [between these]. As I said earlier, about 28 million people in Afghanistan rely on natural resources for their livelihood. Climate change forces many of these to migrate in urban areas. This population, which was originally a producer, becomes a consumer by entering [such] a destructive cycle. As a result, poverty increases and the [class] gap between rich and poor widens.
Global experience shows that the presence of a large middle class leads toward democratization. the expansion of civil society, and the expansion of political participation of the people. As poverty increases, the middle class is slowly disappearing, thus weakening civil society and democracy. This is intensifying the gender gap and increasing economic and social pressure on women. In this situation, many children drop out of school. Two important books in the field of environmental science are Silent Spring, written by Rachel Carson, and Our Common Future, [by the UN Brundtland Commission] about sustainable development. We call the Earth “mother” because all existence and life is born from the Earth. Both women and Earth are the sources of procreation. Sustainable development cannot take place without the presence of women. Women can [and should] play a role in educating the new generation based on environmental values and protecting the environment.
ZT: As you rightly pointed out, the women’s movement is at the forefront of environmental awareness and protection. How do you evaluate women’s role in the context of the situation in Afghanistan?
Homayoon: Unfortunately, women’s roles under the Taliban have diminished. However, “climate apartheid” has a direct relationship with “gender apartheid”. The question of the environment relates to women’s questions. As in other countries, ecofeminist, queer, and feminist movements have prominent roles. In patriarchal societies, “women” and “land” are exchanged as “goods.”
ZT: You have worked forenvironmental protection agencies for many years. What factors explain the general lack of knowledge about environmental issues?
Homayoon: I conducted research asking questions from 21,000 people in 16 provinces: 67 percent of the people had no knowledge of environmental issues and their responsibilities in this regard; about seven or eight percent of the participants considered the lack of political will to be the cause of the environmental crisis.
We planned to produce informational material teaching about the harmful consequences of environmental crises such as water shortage, soil erosion, the effect of insecticides on the environment, particularly the health of pregnant women, environmentally friendly methods of home heating, and waste management. We planned to organize training courses for school teachers to add education about the environment to school curriculums. We implemented this in 50 schools in Kabul.
ZT: In your opinion, if we still live in denial of this issue Afghanistan, what will the consequences be and are these consequences compensable?
Homayoon: Unfortunately, these consequences cannot be compensated. According to reports of international environmental organizations, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Afghanistan is on the list of 10 countries [most] vulnerable to climate change and environmental crises. The high-risk situation causes mass migration, water shortages, and causes serious risk to agriculture and animal husbandry and the increase in pests and harmful insects such as locusts that destroy crops.
ZT: Based on global environmental indicators, what is the situation in Afghanistan?
Homayoon: In connection with global warming, the IPCC, which is the climate change panel, presents its annual report on the state of the world’s environment based on international indicators. According to the analysis of this organization, Afghanistan has once been listed as the tenth country most exposed to serious environmental risks. But two years ago, the same organization classified Afghanistan as the fourth country that is exposed to the most serious environmental risks. From the point of view of the weather, based on the air quality indicators, Kabul is one of the most polluted cities in the world.
ZT: In your opinion, how beneficial is the role of mass and social media in raising awareness about environmental issues?
Homayoon: The role of mass media and social media [in raising awareness] is important. But the biggest problem is the lack of journalists with necessary expertise. Sometimes, incorrect information about natural and environmental resources causes more damage. Therefore, in my opinion, we need to train journalists and make them “green” so that they can prepare and publish accurate, reliable reports, which can inform discussion on this issue.
ZT: Afghanistan has always experienced long wars. How has war impacted the environment?
Homayoon: Unfortunately, 40 years of wars have left behind lethal debris. These wastes are among the most dangerous environmental wastes that can affect several generations through the food chain. They cause many diseases such as cancer, short life span, short stature. and other types of diseases. So far, the hidden cost of war that people pay in dealing with chemical contaminants left over from war and contaminants containing uranium-235 compounds has not been studied. A few years ago, the “mother of all bombs” was used in Afghanistan, the destructive environmental effects of which will remain for tens and even hundreds of years to come. So far, no one has been able to evaluate its irreparable and hidden costs. Although this issue is one of the tasks of the United Nations Environment Programme, unfortunately, due to political reasons, they have not been able to provide any data about the environmental cost and consequences of war.
Despite this, it is obvious that our soil in Afghanistan is very polluted from the consequences of war. Our waters are polluted, and our green cover areas are decreasing day by day. Also, noise pollution resulting from military wars has affected both the mental health and the physical health of the people. If this issue is litigated, the former Soviet Union and the United States of America [would need to] pay Afghanistan compensation. It is only the poor countries that pay the environmental consequences of these wars, while the countries pioneering international conventions do not allow a systematic study of the environmental costs of war.
ZT: You mentioned the need to change our lifestyle to improve the situation. In your opinion, how compatible is the current way of life in the cities and villages of Afghanistan with the protection of the environment?
Homayoon: First, we must consider that the ways of life of people in cities and villages are different. For example, the major source of environmental pollution in the city is urban pollutants that produce air, soil, and water pollution. In villages, the source of these pollutants is mostly animal husbandry and agriculture. Of course, in rural areas, the use of agricultural pollutants such as chemical fertilizers and insecticides can also be dangerous for the environment and pollute running water and subsequently groundwater sources. In cities, because the population density is high, urban pollution, including noise pollution, plastic [garbage] pollution, harms the environment more.
However, most of the villagers, because they have a direct relationship with nature and natural resources such as land and are more familiar with nature, can usually control environmental pollutants. For example, they know that when the fertility of the soil is reduced; in order to revive the land, they must rest it for a year or plant seedless plants. But unfortunately, the challenge here is that the villagers are also forced to migrate and leave the village due to environmental crises to join the cycle of competition of the urban dwellers to earn a living by exploiting the soil and water.
ZT: Having said that, how do you define the connection between the environmental crisis and all kinds of crises in everyday life?
Homayoon: Population displacements occur. In other words, as the environmental crisis increases, the number of environmental migrants increases and disrupts the urban system. It is said that about 40 million people will migrate in Bangladesh by 2050 due to environmental changes. Unfortunately, no detailed research has been done by international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and there are no accurate statistics in this field. But in the [near future], we will see an increase in the crisis of environmental migrants.
ZT: Based on your analysis and experience about the environment, what is the main obstacle at the country and regional level to combating the environmental crisis?
Homayoon: The prosperous class of the society in the post-conflict countries, because they want to increase their income and have power in their hands, cause environmental pollution. Because, in most cases, they have legal exemptions and restrictive laws do not apply to them. It can be claimed that most of the different types of water, air, soil, and noise pollution are caused by this class. On the other hand, the poor have to cut down trees, use agricultural soil repeatedly, use more chemical fertilizers, etc., all of which eventually cause damage and soil erosion.
ZT: In the end, considering the increasing effects of globalization and the borderlessness of collective crises such as the environment, how do you evaluate the role of international organizations in responding to climate change?
Homayoon: The issue requires serious attention. It was after 1972 that attention was given to the environmental issue. During this period, various international conventions related to the environment were established, of which Afghanistan has signed approximately 14 conventions and their annexes and protocols and has been an active member. For example, last year, Afghanistan requested $20 million dollars from the $100-billion budget fund of industrialized countries — which are the main cause of environmental pollution in the world — to control our environmental crisis. This budget was intended for the restoration of forests and protection of birds and underground water. We also participated in several meetings related to the environment. Unfortunately, due to the Taliban takeover, we could not participate in the Glasgow meeting and obtain this budget.
ZT: Thank you once again for your participation in this conversation.
