Afghanistan's Fragile Wildlife

After decades of war and internal conflict, it would be easy to assume that Afghanistan's wildlife has been as decimated as its infrastructure. Since the 1979 Soviet invasion, the country's had no systematic or serious management of land. An unsettled population has been forced to take what it needs and go -- cutting trees and brush for firewood, overfarming, and overgrazing land. And of course, there's also been the physical toll of conflict: 30 years of bombings.

But remarkably, the country still contains pockets of biodiversity. Last week, I wrote about the discovery of the world's least-known bird in the Wakhan Corridor of the Pamir Mountains -- something that got me wondering what ornithologists were doing in Afghanistan in the first place. The corridor, also known as the "roof of the world," is an improbably narrow stretch of land sandwiched between Pakistan and Tajikistan, reaching all the way to China. Despite being part of the once-busy Silk Road, the area is now fairly quiet, something that makes it a safe haven for wildlife and safe enough for researchers like those at the Wildlife Conversation Society (WCS), the first to conduct conservation studies in the country in more than 30 years.

There are a lot of reasons to be in the Pamirs: snow leopards, Marco Polo sheep, ibex, lynx and wolves all live in the area. Afghanistan as a whole lies between temperate and tropical biomes, making it central ground for northern and southern species. Plus, with 80 percent of the country's people reliant on natural resources (according to the WCS), conservation takes on enormous importance for Afghanistan's long-term recovery. 

To make the changes stick, though, the WCS works with the Afghani government, as well as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Last year, they set up Band-e-Amir, the country's first national park: six lakes that look like slabs of turquoise or lapis lazuli and natural travertine dams. The group hopes the park will become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a designation that offers more protection and the promise of future eco-tourism. The WCS has also worked with Afghanistan's National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA) to create a list of protected species -- again, the country's first -- and help cut down on trafficking.

Still on the list? The creation of a four-country Transboundary Protected Area in the Pamirs to shelter endangered animals like the snow leopards that wander across borders.

Image credit: Band-e-Amir was declared Afghanistan's first national park on April 22, 2009. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)