Officials from the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) presented their annual performance report during a press conference at the Government Information and Media Center.
The agency highlighted significant progress in advancing 10 key projects focused on climate change and environmental sustainability, with a total investment of $58.7 million.
NEPA’s achievements over the past year include the development of several strategic initiatives: a climate-resilient water and watershed management project, the introduction of low-carbon technologies, the establishment of an environmental research farm, the launch of a national tree-planting campaign, and an assessment of climate change vulnerabilities. The agency also secured approval for funding a community-based climate change response project, compiled a national inventory of controlled substances under the Montreal Protocol, and obtained a $1.16 million financial commitment from the newly established Biodiversity Fund.
According to the findings, the rise in temperatures, successive droughts, seasonal flooding, decreased agricultural output, the increase in human, plant, and animal diseases, internal displacement, land and forest degradation, and climate change have led to severe consequences, posing significant challenges to the lives of our citizens.
Officials assert that climate change and environmental concerns are independent of political agendas and should be recognized as critical social and humanitarian issues.
Officials emphasized, we hope that at the global conference (COP-29), which is scheduled to take place this year in Azerbaijan, Afghanistan will be officially invited so that the country and its vulnerable people are properly represented and the world’s attention is drawn to tackle the prevailing challenges.
According to the officials, NEPA conducted comprehensive environmental and social impact assessments for 1,520 diverse activities and projects across both public and private sectors. Of these, 1,498 projects received environmental approvals and permits, while 22 were rejected due to non-compliance with environmental standards.
NEPA also stated on its efforts to monitor the physical and biological conditions of protected areas, including Band-e Amir National Park, Mandeher in Paktia, Wakhan in Badakhshan, and Kol-e Hashmat Khan. In addition, the agency initiated a biophysical and social survey of Nuristan National Park, prevented the illegal trafficking of 17,216 birds and 25 wild animals, and monitored wildlife breeding farms in Balkh and Farah provinces.
To combat environmental pollution, NEPA oversaw a total of 22,328 activities, including residential developments, high-rise buildings, wedding halls, factories, brick kilns, and other industrial operations. The agency found that 14,825 activities complied with environmental standards, corrected 1,581 activities, and issued recommendations for the improvement of 2,849 others.
Over the past year, NEPA has also entered into five cooperation agreements with non-governmental organizations to implement environmental projects worth over $1 million. Furthermore, the agency is actively overseeing the implementation of these projects.
Moreover, NEPA reviewed and amended six policy and legislative documents, integrated environmental considerations into 13 policy and legislative frameworks of other government agencies, renewed the national biodiversity strategy, and developed a five-year development plan along with 47 operational plans for both central and provincial administrations. #
