Track 3-2-1: Grazing Pressure, Industrialisation, Land Use Change, Policies and Social Programmes
Description
Afghanistan, a land locked country with arid and semi-arid climatic conditions and the average amount of rainfall is 250 mm per year, heavily depends on the rangelands for livestock feed. Permanent pasture cover around 46% of the total land area i.e. 30 million ha rangeland exist in the country (Thomson et al. 2003), whereas forestry covers around 3% of total area i.e. around 1.9 million ha. Based on seasons, the rangelands of Afghanistan divided into three categories; the winter (16 million ha); the spring and autumn (16 million ha) and summer (22.5 million) pastures. Rangeland degradation is quite severe and widespread problem in Afghanistan (ESCAP, 1983). Overgrazing is a major cause of rangeland degradation in dry areas leading to desertification (FAO, 1993). The reduced plant cover due to overgrazing accelerates soil erosion resulting in loss of fertile topsoil. It adversely affects the productivity as well as biodiversity of the land, and causes for the spread of invasive species of non-native weeds. The destruction of rangeland vegetation of Afghanistan is not recent, dating back to hundreds of years (Pittroff, 2011). Keeping in view these constraints, a foresight survey was conducted to assess current status and future prospects on rangelands in Afghanistan.
Citation
Saharawat, Yashpal Singh; Manan, Abdul Rahman; and Esmati, Hyatullah, "Rangelands Management: A Foresight in Afghanistan" (2020). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 3.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/23/3-2-1/3
Included in
Rangelands Management: A Foresight in Afghanistan
Afghanistan, a land locked country with arid and semi-arid climatic conditions and the average amount of rainfall is 250 mm per year, heavily depends on the rangelands for livestock feed. Permanent pasture cover around 46% of the total land area i.e. 30 million ha rangeland exist in the country (Thomson et al. 2003), whereas forestry covers around 3% of total area i.e. around 1.9 million ha. Based on seasons, the rangelands of Afghanistan divided into three categories; the winter (16 million ha); the spring and autumn (16 million ha) and summer (22.5 million) pastures. Rangeland degradation is quite severe and widespread problem in Afghanistan (ESCAP, 1983). Overgrazing is a major cause of rangeland degradation in dry areas leading to desertification (FAO, 1993). The reduced plant cover due to overgrazing accelerates soil erosion resulting in loss of fertile topsoil. It adversely affects the productivity as well as biodiversity of the land, and causes for the spread of invasive species of non-native weeds. The destruction of rangeland vegetation of Afghanistan is not recent, dating back to hundreds of years (Pittroff, 2011). Keeping in view these constraints, a foresight survey was conducted to assess current status and future prospects on rangelands in Afghanistan.
