AFGHANISTAN: Interview with irrigation and environment minister

KABUL, 8 April 2003 (IRIN) - In Afghanistan, more then 85 percent of the population of 25 million depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. With hundreds of thousands of people returning to the country seeking work, the revival of such a key sector in this drought-plagued nation depends on the rehabilitation of irrigation systems - both traditional and modern - which were destroyed by years of fighting and neglect. That is by itself a formidable task, but the new Afghan minister for irrigation and environment, Yusuf Nuristani, also faces ecological challenges such as diminishing wetlands, forests and wildlife. Here is what Nuristani had to say on these issues during a recent interview with IRIN. QUESTION: What are your main priorities? ANSWER: I think the drought which has affected this country has had a negative impact on other countries in the region. There are six priorities at a national level, and irrigation is included in that. Also capacity building in terms of training, equipment and rehabilitation of the buildings, bringing electricity, having Internet so we can contact other organisations who are interested in supporting us. So this is our number-one priority and we hope to be able to implement it in the field. Q: What sort of response have you had from the international community in terms of your needs? A: There has been a good response, and many countries have come forward and are interested in supporting us with water issues to alleviate these problems. Q: What state is the irrigation system in Afghanistan in following decades of conflict? A: Afghanistan is an agrarian society, 80 percent of the economy belongs to agriculture and up to 85 percent of people are living in rural areas, so 80 percent of our irrigation system or fields are being irrigated by our traditional canal system, and only 12 percent by modern canals/reservoirs. During the war, most of these traditional irrigation systems were destroyed, and people left the country, abandoning [their] land. The irrigation systems have fallen [victim] to erosion, there has been lack of maintenance and upkeep, so we need complete rehabilitation. Last year, we had 1.5 million Afghan refugees returning from neighbouring countries back to their land. We need to get these systems up and running again so that farmers can start business. Q: What sort of a burden will these returnees place on the water system? A: It will be a burden not only on the water system in the urban areas. Some people are unable to return to their land because there are mines there. We are working on this too. But once they return, they need to have systems which are working, and rehabilitation is urgently needed in order to ease the burden on water resources. We have over 150 projects in the pipeline to reconstruct systems to accommodate everyone. Q: How many Afghans currently have access to safe drinking water? A: When it comes to statistics in Afghanistan, we have to be careful and take them cautiously. Based on these statistics, 20 percent of Afghan people across the country have access to safe drinking water in cities and villages. The plan is to provide potable water to the people, and we will continue the digging of deep wells - after proper exploration so that we don't deprive groups of their resource. Afghanistan has suffered from war and drought for the past two decades, and would appreciate the continued inputs and financial, technical contributions to overcome these environmental problems, and restore this country to its former glory. Q: There is concern that returnees will not go back to their land, but opt to stay in cities for job opportunities. What is your response to this? A: We do realise that it is very difficult for them to go back to their land, because they have to build from scratch and, in some cases, complete devastation, but in the long term we urge them to go back to their land if it is safe, and we will do all we can to help them rehabilitate their land to make them self-sufficient. Q: Are you dealing with property rights for farmers who've returned to find that their land has been occupied? A: The ministry of agriculture is dealing with this, and we will support them on this issue. This is a problem, but we hope that it can be resolved. Q: A recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) indicated serious concerns over degradation of water tables, wetlands, forests and wildlife in Afghanistan following decades of war. How is the ministry responding to this? A: The environment has been damaged to a great extent. The UNEP completed this environmental assessment of Afghanistan, with Afghan experts showing that there were adverse effects. The problem was compounded by droughts. The most recent one has severely devastated land, particularly in the south, in Nimruz, Farah, and provinces in the north. Some 40 percent of the forests have been cut down. Desertification is another problem. Pollution of underground water is another one. Q: Some people may argue that it is too early to start pointing fingers at people for destroying the environment, for life-saving reasons, in a country where people may be forced to chop down a tree to ensure that they keep warm over the winter. A: Yes, this is true. The environmental damage has been caused by the Afghan people due to poverty, because they have no other alternative. But that is not as severe, because most of the degradation of forests has been caused by the timber mafias and not by the average poor Afghan. Our plan is to work with UNEP on projects to prevent increased environmental disaster in years to come.