Govt urged to stop eradication of pastures in Bamyan

BAMYAN CITY (Pajhwok): Some residents in central Bamyan province have expressed concerns over the destruction of pastures and said it happened due to natural disasters and decline in the livestock in the province.

Shaikh Hussain Ali, the resident of Qarghana Tot locality in Bamyan City, said in the past two years grassland and pastures had been damaged at great speed in the province.

He said: “Due to the drought and the lack of fuel most residents started cultivating wheat, they used plants and bushes as fuel that further resulted in this situation.”

He explained due to the lack of water agricultural lands were under cultivation before were no longer cultivatable and this could not solve the problems of the residents of the area, so people have resorted to agriculture and have destroyed large areas of pastures in an unprecedented manner.

Ali Dad, the resident of Pasroya locality in Yakawalang No.1 district, said most residents of the district used trees, bushes as fuel and most pastures were now on the verge of eradication.

He said the residents have no other option but to use trees and bushes as fuel because there is no other source to be used as fuel and the economic situation of people did not allow them to purchase wood and coal.

Bamyan University Teacher Qudratullah Raha said over 75 percent people in Bamyan associated with agriculture and when agriculture is affected people will suffer economically.

He said the shortage of water has affected irrigation of agriculture lands and when grasslands and pastures are also damaged it will make it difficult for the livestock to survive.

He believed due to the increase cultivation of rain fed lands and indiscriminate use of mountain bushes, natural resources are destroyed and the land becomes prone to natural disasters such as landslides, floods, landslides and environmental degradation, which ultimately makes life difficult.

Officials, however, pledged practical steps had been taken to ensure the protection of pasture and grasslands.

Mohammad Ibrahim Dadfar, the Environmental Protection Department head, said pastures and grasslands that has major role in environmental protection were on the verge of eradication.

He believed pastures and grasslands had major role in the production of oxygen, animal survival and prevention of natural disasters.

He said the Environmental Protection Department along with the security organs have developed a mechanism on the bases of which efforts are being made to ensure the protection of pastures and grassland.

These steps included monitoring the grasslands, cordoning pastures that are at risk, imposing penalty on individuals. This mechanism will be implemented by different institutions.

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