Conifer forests in three eastern provinces of Afghanistan are now less than half the size they were in 1978, a UN report reveals.
The UN Environment Programme’s post-conflict environment assessment study made use of satellite imagery to discover the level of deforestation in Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan.
About 200 timber trucks a day have used the main road in Kunar since 1979, most of the timber destined for export markets in neighbouring Pakistan. Warlords, timber barons and foreign traders are believed to be controlling the illegal trade.
