Dear All,

Afghanistan is a landlocked nation in central South Asia. It shares borders with Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China. The country's area is 647,500 square kilometers or 246,035 square miles (slightly smaller the the US state of Texas, slightly larger than France).

Afghanistan's terrain is about 75% mountains. The Hindu Kush mountains, considered an extension of the Himalayas, generally run northeast to southwest and divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country, with plains in the north and southwest. The highest point is Nowshak, 7,485 m (24,557 feet). The lowest point is Amu Darya, 258 m (833 feet). 49% of the country is over 2,000 m (6,650 feet) in altitude.

Land use is 12.13% arable land; 0.21% permanent crops; and 87.66% other (2005).

Natural resources include natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones.

There are four main rivers:

·         The Amu Darya ("Persian Sea") rises in the far eastern mountains of Afghanistan, runs generally east along the northern boarder with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, before turning generally north into Turkmenistan and flowing into the Aral Sea (or disappearing before reaching the Aral Sea).

·         The Harirud rises in the mountains in the center of the country, runs generally west, passing south of the western city of Herat, and then northwest and north, where it forms part of the boarder between Iran and Turkmenistan and ultimately ends in the Kara Kum desert.

·         The Helmand rises in the mountains west of the capital city of Kabul, runs generally southwest to the far southwest of the country where it flows into the Hamun-i-Helmand (or Sistan Lake), a marshy lake (approximately 12,950 sq km or 5,000 sq mile) on the boarder between Afghanistan and Iran. In spring this lake feeds the Shelagh River which flows into salt flats and swamps in the southwest region of Afghanistan, Gaud-i-Zirreh.

·         The Kabul also rises in the mountains to the west of the capital city but runs generally southeast crossing into Pakistan and into the Indus River. The Kabul is a small river for most of the year, but expands in summer with the melting of snow.

Major Environmental Issues and Natural Hazards

Current environmental issues include: limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; and air and water pollution.

Natural hazards include damaging earthquakes in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; and droughts.

International Environmental Agreements

Afghanistan is party to the following international environmental agreements:

• Biodiversity;
• Climate Change;
• Desertification;
• Endangered Species;
• Environmental Modification; and,
• Marine Dumping.

Afghanistan has signed, but not ratified, international environmental agreements on:

• Hazardous Wastes;
• Law of the Sea; and
• Marine Life Conservation.

Demographics and Health

Population: 32.7 million (July 2008 est.). The population growth rate is estimated to be 2.626% per year. Note that this does not include the return of an estimated 2.3 million refugees to Afghanistan since 2002 mainly from Pakistan and Iran (of an estimated 4 million refugees outside of the country in 2001).

Afghanistan is impacted by several major infectious diseases, including food- or water-borne diseases such as bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever; and vector-borne diseases such as malaria (especially in areas below 2,000 meters from March through November). Rabies is also present.

From: anupama sukhlecha <anupama_acad@...>
Subject: Re: [netrum] Environmental diseases in Afghanistan: Attn All
To: netrum@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, July 4, 2009, 10:50 AM

Dear Dr Bashaar,     It is difficult for a country to make rapid progress after war. "Rome was not built in a day". Committed persons like you can contribute a lot in improving the situation.   There is a need of a lot funding and a good management to see that funds are used appropriately. Industries can have a tax holiday. Ten years from now you can see a new Afghanistan. Eight years ago Kutch (Gujarat) in India was also devasted by earthquake. But now, one can see a new developed Kutch. Anupama --- On Sat, 4/7/09, Mohammad Bashaar <bashaarulfat@ yahoo.com> wrote: From: Mohammad Bashaar <bashaarulfat@ yahoo.com> Subject: [netrum] Environmental diseases in Afghanistan: Attn All To: netrum@yahoogroups. com Date: Saturday, 4 July, 2009, 11:30 AM Dear All, Wish you contribute to the current discussion.   ENVIRONMENTAL DISEASES   "Environment is surrounding atmosphere/ condition for existence"   According to the above definition of Environment, it is vital to keep our atmosphere healthy and workable in order to have achievements and production.   Afghanistan 's climate is arid and semi-arid and for the past 10 years has suffered a severe drought, sometimes with very dusty environment, which led to many respiratory health problems, and this dry, dusty environment also causes numerous preventable eye injuries. Afghanistan is the most heavily mined country in the world and landmine injuries were the prime cause of traumatic amputation. Common traumatic injuries from landmines, sprains and strains, limb crushes and venomous bites. Landmines are most dangerous environmental factor which led to handicapped community, consequently a social burden on government and economy. Lack of asphalt roads and sub-roads, very often causes sprains and strains in the lower extremities of the local people where they are walking from one area to another in rocky areas, since Afghanistan is mostly mountainous. Besides the above factors, there are other hazards. Rodents, Scorpions and Snacks are the main problem, since Afghanistan has 270 varieties of snakes and 52 are poisonous, including the aggressive Saw-Scaled Viper. A bite from this snake could prove fatal. Deforestation is a major contributory factor to aridity, air pollution, loss of habitat and vulnerability to flash floods. Millions of trees have been lost in different provinces of Afghanistan , and the ecosystem has been severely damaged because of deforestation, in part induced by drought. In a nutshell, environmental health discusses the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of injuries and illnesses resulting from exposure to exogenous chemical or physical agents in the surrounding atmosphere. In order to solve the above problem, it was agreed in London conference on Afghanistan held on 31 January – 1 February 2006 that, the Afghan Government, with the support of the international community, is committed to achieving the following benchmarks in accordance with the timelines specified.   Environment In line with Afghanistan’s MDGs, environmental regulatory frameworks and management services will be established for the protection of air and water quality, waste management and pollution control, and natural resource policies will be developed and implementation started at all levels of government as well as the community level, by end-2007.   Water Resource Management Sustainable water resource management strategies and plans covering irrigation and drinking water supply will be developed by end-2006, and irrigation investments will result in at least 30% of water coming from large waterworks by end-2010.     Some facts about environmental diseases in Afghanistan ·        Accidents, illness and premature deaths caused by occupational exposures affect more of the people in Afghanistan . ·        The "man or child on the street" are most prone to environmental diseases ·        Children and Women working in carpet factories, ·        Deforestation ·        Insurgency, Insecurity and war ·        Bad Roads ·        Lack of electricity and Gas ·        Etc Best Regards   Mohammad Bashaar --- On Fri, 7/3/09, anupama sukhlecha <anupama_acad@ yahoo.co. in> wrote: From: anupama sukhlecha <anupama_acad@ yahoo.co. in> Subject: Re: [netrum] Environmental diseases in Afghanistan: Anupama To: netrum@yahoogroups. com Date: Friday, July 3, 2009, 11:24 AM Dear Dr Bashaar, Noristan is really very beautiful. It could be made into a tourist destination ( without altering the natural flora and fauna). Anupama --- On Thu, 2/7/09, Mohammad Bashaar <bashaarulfat@ yahoo.com> wrote: From: Mohammad Bashaar <bashaarulfat@ yahoo.com> Subject: [netrum] Environmental diseases in Afghanistan: Anupama [4 Attachments] To: netrum@yahoogroups. com Date: Thursday, 2 July, 2009, 12:22 PM Dear Anupama, I concur and support your words, that not merely it is the problem in Afghanistan, it is a global and universal problem, but something has been done in other parts of the world to have better environment for existence. As everyone knows, that Afghanistan naturally is very beautiful, more of its part are mountainous with forests, from other side, it is not industrialized state, thus we are very pro to have good environment. But the 3 decades war ruined everything, and its needs hard efforts to overcome. Attached are some pictures from Noristan Province of Afghanistan, who is the real picture of natural environment. Best Regards   Mohammad Bashaar --- On Thu, 7/2/09, anupama sukhlecha <anupama_acad@ yahoo.co. in> wrote: From: anupama sukhlecha <anupama_acad@ yahoo.co. in> Subject: Re: [netrum] Re: Environmental diseases in Afghanistan: Introduction To: netrum@yahoogroups. com Date: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 9:50 AM Dear Dr Bashaar,   It is really saddening to see Kabul being reduced to a dry land. Same is the condition here in most Indian cities. We can see the impact.This year we have had very negligible rainfall.There are places like Australia which have been affected by floods. There are lots of diseases following damage to environment. Animals are also not left unaffected. Heating of earth's surface can lead to greenhouse effect.     Global warming is called the greenhouse effect because the gases that are gathering above the earth make the planet comparable to a greenhouse.  By trapping heat near the surface of the earth, the greenhouse effect is warming the planet and threatening the environment. Current fears stem largely from the fact that global warming is occurring at such a rapid pace.  Models are predicting that over the next century, the global temperature will rise by several degrees. Some scientists still do not think that the effects of global warming are as severe as some people say.  They think that droughts, hurricanes, and floods often blamed on global warming might actually have other causes. One major difficulty in studying global warming is the fact that weather data only exists for the last century and a half.  As a result, understanding the present and predicting the future are very difficult. Ref: http://library. thinkquest. org/26026/ Environmental_ Problems/ global_warming. html Anupama --- On Wed, 1/7/09, Vijay <drvijaythawani@ yahoo.co. in> wrote: From: Vijay <drvijaythawani@ yahoo.co. in> Subject: [netrum] Re: Environmental diseases in Afghanistan: Introduction To: netrum@yahoogroups. com Date: Wednesday, 1 July, 2009, 7:10 PM Hi, It is indeed disturbing to know how humans are responsible for spoiling the environment and bring suffering for fellowmates. We surely need to learn many things from other animals on this earth. Vijay --- In netrum@yahoogroups. com, Mohammad Bashaar <bashaarulfat@ ...> wrote: > > > > > > Dear Colleagues, > > I hope you all will find the current discussion interesting and to the point. Maybe, it will come in your minds, that why I am always selecting topics from Afghanistan. There are many reasons to it.1- Since I am coming from Afghanistan2- Know about the situation and consequences > 3 Afghanistan is developing in nature, so we must see the progress and the pitfalls4- To reflect the real picture of Afghanistan to the world in terms of health issues > 5- To hear ideas, suggestions, and comments from diverse experts, in order to fill the gaps we have > 6- To make our health system more effective, logical and pragmatic > Before that we go further, below you will find a little background knowledge of Environment Situation in Afghanistan. > Background: > > > Afghanistan > has long been a land of marginal environment- too dry and too cold for much > life. Thousands of years of environmental stress by the country's people have > dramatically altered the landscape and caused extensive environmental > destruction. Because the Afghan people lack the financial means to purchase > fuel, they must cut trees, uproot shrubs, and collect dung for burning. > Domestic animals overgraze the range. The result is extensive soil erosion by > water and wind. Long-term irrigation without flushing has added salt to much of > the arable land and destroyed its fertility. Polluted water supplies are > common, except in the high mountain regions where few people live permanently. > Ancient writings and archaeological evidence show that once rich areas of > forest and grassland have been reduced to stretches of barren rock and sand. > The government of Afghanistan > began to recognize environmental problems in the 1970s with the help of the > United Nations and other international agencies. The pressures of the war, > however, have diverted attention from these issues and further aggravated the > country's environmental state. > > > > Situation of Environment in 1980s > > > Kabul was attractive and old-fashioned city with lush greenery and > clean mountain air. But due to years of war, the crumbling of public services > and population explosion have plunged the city to the depths of environmental > pollution rarely seen elsewhere in the world. > > > > > > Current Situation: > > > The biggest killer in the country, especially in Kabul is the air > pollution. Experts consider Kabul > to be one of the most polluted cities in the world; in fact, the city was > designed for 500,000 but now houses are close to five million, which has > adverse effects on living condition, ranging from environmental diseases to > communicable diseases. > > > > Amanullah Hosseini, the director for environmental health in > the Afghan ministry of health added that"Air pollution is just a huge > problem here," "It leads to so many diseases - respiratory diseases, > allergies, miscarriages and even cancer." > > > > The ministry estimates that some 3,000 people die from > pollution-induced illnesses in Kabul > yearly making them the biggest cause of natural death in this city of five > million. And according to the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), > a government body, nearly 80 percent of Kabul's > hospital patients suffer from diseases caused by polluted air and water. > > > > With an increase in exposure of 10 micrograms per cubic > metre in the level of small particulate matter (air particles of 2.5 > micrometres or smaller), "there is a six percent increase in > cardiovascular deaths and an eight percent increase in deaths from lung cancer > per year," states a recent report from the ministry of health. > > > > Kabul has three times the amount of particulate matter per cubic metre > than cities in neighboring countries, according to NEPA. > > > > And the gap is even wider in comparison to industrialized > countries. A measure of nitrogen dioxide, a dangerous substance, registers a > level of 52 parts-per-million, whereas the same reading in the United States > shows a level of 0.53 parts-per-million. > > > > Best Regards   Mohammad Bashaar > > --- On Wed, 7/1/09, Mohammad Bashaar <bashaarulfat@ ...> wrote: > > From: Mohammad Bashaar <bashaarulfat@ ...> > Subject: [netrum] Environmental diseases in Afghanistan > To: netrum@yahoogroups. com > Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 8:31 AM > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Dear NETRUM Colleagues, > > > > At the outset I am really > grateful of Dr. Vijay Thawani for inviting me for the moderation for fourth > time. Secondly I am really pleased of esteemed netrum colleagues who assisted > and helped me in the previous three discussions. > > > > I am quite sure and > confident, that this time, the esteemed colleagues, will assist me more than > last times, and they will make the current discussion live and richer. > > > The current discussion > topic is “Environmental diseases in Afghanistan”.  I hope our colleagues; will come with their > insights, know-how, and knowledge. > > > The floor is officially open for > discussion, but it is the prime duty of everyone to be adherent to the topic, > in order to achieve our desired goal. > > > > Best Regards   Mohammad Bashaar > > --- On Wed, 7/1/09, Vijay <drvijaythawani@ yahoo.co. in> wrote: > > From: Vijay <drvijaythawani@ yahoo.co. in> > Subject: [netrum] Thanks Vijaya; Welcome Bashaar > To: netrum@yahoogroups. com > Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 7:17 AM > > > > > > > > > > > Hi, > On behalf of NetRUM, heartfelt thanks  to Dr Vijaya Chaudhari for moderating the discussion on  "Rationality of Nootropics & cognition enhancers". Well done Vijaya  and do return as moderator with another topic. > The next discussion (no.109) is to be moderated  by Dr Mohammad Bashaar from  01-05 Jul on "Environmental Diseases in Afghanistan" . Welcome  Dr Bashaar and please takeover NetRUM.  > Vijay >   >   > Love Cricket? Check out live scores, photos, video highlights and more. Click here. Yahoo! recommends that you upgrade to the new and safer Internet Explorer 8.

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