One Million Trees 2030 Campaign #Afghanistan
Youth and Students for Peace in Afghanistan launched the One Million Trees 2030 campaign on April 22, 2019, on the International Day of Earth. This campaign was launched at the Awarang Private School with more than three hundred young students, who all planted a tree in their school grounds. YSP Afghanistan also signed a memorandum of understanding with Bamyan Municpality to support and work together for the One Million Trees 2030 campaign that can help immensely towards reforestation in Bamyan Province of Afghanistan. In 2019, YSP Apghanistan partnered with Bamyan Municpality to plant two hundred trees in the city of Bamyam. Bamyan Deputy Mayor has been the main supporter of this campaign and has personally joined many of the tree planting events organized by the YSP volunteers in Bamyan. Takhar Province is another province that has joined the One Million Trees 2030 campaign. With help and support of volunteers, YSP Afghanistan planted more than one hundred trees in three schools in Takhar. However, Afghanistan has thirty-four provinces, so YSP Afghanistan are working to apply this campaign in a more widespread manner and want to bring the One Million Trees 2030 campaign to all thirty-four provinces.
In today’s world, deforestation is occurring at an alarming rate, and currently only about two percent of Afghanistan is covered with forests. Generally, environmental experts recommend that fifteen percent of a country such as Afghanistan should be forested in order to prevent topsoil erosion and sustain good air quality. The largest areas of forests are located in the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, and Nuristan. In fact, environmentalists have stated that if the current trend is not reversed, all forests in Afghanistan will disappear within the next thirty years. As the forests disappear, so will a multitude of wildlife species; further damaging Afghanistan’s biodiversity. Not only will Afghanistan suffer economically, but there will also be an increase in fatalities and damages as a result of flooding.
Knowing this great danger facing Afghanistan, Youth and Students for Peace in Afghanistan has focused mainly on environmental protection and ‘Climate Action’ activities. Through this project, YSP Afghanistan can support the Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Climate Action) and Sustainable Development Goal 15 (Life on Land).
One Million Trees 2030 campaign is a ten yearlong endeavour that will work on raising awareness and action towards alleviating climate change and encouraging Afghans to plant trees for a greener and cleaner Afghanistan.
