Afghanistan Conservation Corps

The Afghanistan Conservation Corps (ACC) programme is funded by the Government of the United States of America and managed by the UNOPS Afghanistan Operations Centre (AGOC). Projects are identified and implemented in collaboration with the National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA), the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), and other Afghan government ministries.

ACC works with the Government and local communities to conserve Afghanistan's biodiversity whilst improving rural livelihoods and building capacity to restore and manage forests, rangeland and watersheds sustainably. Labour-intensive methods provide work for vulnerable local residents, such as returning refugees, internally displaced persons, women and ex-combatants.

By 2009 ACC has implemented 350 sub-projects in 24 provinces with local communities and government counterparts. The sub-projects have generated about 400,000 labour days and these have benefited thousands of households living in rural, isolated and some of the poorest areas of Afghanistan. They have addressed a broad range of environment-related needs including horticulture, forestry, soil conservation, river bank stabilization and erosion control, community-based management of natural pistachio forests, landscaping of public compounds (by women), effective management of natural protected areas, environmental education and awareness raising.

Achievements

Project achievements include:

• 3.5 million fruit and forestry saplings produced in government and community nurseries;
• Rehabilitation of 108 fruit and forestry nurseries and establishment of more than 800 orchards and home nurseries in the provinces of Ghazni, Herat, Samangan, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, Nuristan and Takhar;
• Support to the creation and operation of three community-based, forest management committees managing more than 3,200 hectares of natural pistachio forest, reforesting degraded areas and increasing forest value by inter-cropping local medicinal plants; local incomes have increased by at least 30% since initiation of these activities;
• Direct seeding with pistachios of 226 hectares of degraded land in the provinces of Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Faryab, Herat, Samangan and Takhar;
• 400,000 days of employment, boosting incomes and the local economy;
• The planting of one million saplings in the Kabul “green belt”, benefiting several million people;
• Improved, 6 km hiking trails around Band-e-Amir lake (the first national park in Afghanistan);
• Training for 14,300 community and Government workers, extensionists and teachers in horticulture, forestry, soil and water conservation and environmental management;
• Improved tourism infrastructure in the Band-e-Amir national park area and production of more than 18,000 copies of publicity materials for visitors to the area; and
• Environmental education to over 25,000 students in a total of 13 provinces.

In addition to the activities outlined above, ACC produced environment-related, educational posters for use in schools and technical posters on topics such as horticulture, tree propagation, soil and water conservation in Dari and Pashto, the official languages of Afghanistan.