Officials at the National Environmental Protection Agency have told TOLOnews that the agency needs $20 billion to implement a ten-year plan to address climate change and environmental issues in the country.
Rohullah Amin, the head of the climate change department of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) said that the plan is 95% complete, and work on it is ongoing.
According to Amin, with this amount of money, in addition to combating climate change, the agency will also work in the areas of water management, agriculture, and the construction of check dams and retaining walls.
The head of the climate change department of the National Environmental Protection Agency said: “The work on this document is about 95% complete and is conditional on financial assistance from global climate finance mechanisms.”
Meanwhile, some environmental experts consider the implementation of such projects to be crucial in the current situation of the country to prevent further damage.
Najibullah Sadeed, an environmental issues expert, said: “In future project planning, a lot of work needs to be done in documenting climate change in Afghanistan and the environmental damages caused by these changes.”
At the same time, some citizens also call on organizations and countries that contribute to the increase in greenhouse gases to assist Afghanistan in combating this phenomenon.
Mohammad Younas, a resident of Kabul, told TOLOnews: “Our request from the international community and aid organizations is to cooperate with Afghanistan in environmental projects because floods have occurred in 34 provinces of Afghanistan, and people have suffered both casualties and financial losses.”
Ali Naqi, another resident of Kabul, said: “Since Afghanistan is more at risk from environmental dangers, there should be greater effort and attention in this regard, as the economy of many Afghans depends on the nature of Afghanistan.”
This comes as reports indicate that Afghanistan is the sixth most vulnerable country to climate change in the world.