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Biodiversity conservation in Afghanistan under the returned Taliban

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 6, pages 342–343 (2022)Cite this article

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To the Editor — Around the world, biodiversity and conservation are often seriously negatively impacted by war and terrorism1,2. Afghanistan has faced prolonged civil war and political instability over the past 40 years, and the immediate direct and indirect impacts of war and terrorism on biodiversity are evident and enduring2,3,4. Issues pertaining to biodiversity conservation have been secondary to government priorities bent towards the people, land and national security2,3,4,5. In spite of this, in 2007, the first law passed by the post-conflict Afghan parliament was the Environment Law, which showed the then government’s commitment towards environmental conservation6. Now, however, with the Taliban back in power, conservation and environmental protection in the country are at risk.

Afghanistan’s ecosystems represent three of the world’s eight biogeographical realms (Afrotropic, Palaearctic and Indomalayan), a result of the country’s extraordinary variation in topography, climate and geology. This diversity of habitat, coupled with its central location between biological zones, make it one of the most ecologically productive and biologically diverse countries in south Asia7.

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Fig. 1

Daniel Prudek / Alamy Stock Photo

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife Sciences, College of Forestry, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Aishwarya Maheshwari

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  1. Aishwarya Maheshwari
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Correspondence to Aishwarya Maheshwari.

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Maheshwari, A. Biodiversity conservation in Afghanistan under the returned Taliban. Nat Ecol Evol 6, 342–343 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01655-1

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