2.1. Social and environmental problems and the impact of the Afghan crisis

People in the region face several common socio-environmental challenges:

• Poor quality and unreliable supply of water for drinking and irrigation in rural areas;

• Lack of energy, especially in cold seasons; use of dirty fuels (coal, dung, firewood) for cooking and heating; air pollution and health risks;

• Degradation of farmland and pastures, locust infestations, food insecurity;

• Impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events and droughts;

• Effects of heat and cold waves on the health of rural workers, children and women;

• Depletion of wild nature: excessive and uncontrolled collection of rare, unique and medicinal plants, illegal hunting of animals, deforestation and cattle grazing in forests, impacts of polluted run-off, excessive water abstraction, lack of river bank protection, effects of infrastructure expansion on water ecosystems, and extinction of species.

Afghan crisis links:

• Rapid population growth and socioeconomic measures to overcome poverty have led to increased demand for water, while availability of water resources at best remains stable or even decreases due to climate change;

• Land mismanagement and droughts, combined with insufficient monitoring, information sharing and pest control (locusts), cause ecologically driven migration and displacement;

• Restrictions on the movement and education of girls and women in Afghanistan increase their vulnerability, including to impacts of climate change;

• Overuse and poor environmental governance in Afghanistan may have indirect effects in Central Asia: reductions in migratory species, increased dust storms and sedimentation due to soil erosion;

• Meteorological and hydrological stations and services in Afghanistan continue to operate with some limitations, but information exchange and contacts with Central Asia have ceased. These factors can potentially affect weather forecasts, seasonal water projections and early warnings, at least for those hydrometeorological processes (dust storms, heatwaves, heavy rains) and river basins linked to Afghanistan (upper Amu Darya, Murghab).

Social-environmental challenges in the southern regions of Central Asia and the impacts of the Afghan crisis

Unreliable water supply

Unreliable power supply

Land degradation, reduced crops

Climate change impacts

Natural disasters

Vanishing species

Water resource reduction

Limited data exchange

Overuse of nature Restrictions on women's rights and freedoms