In order to support vulnerable communities in addressing challenges faced from natural disasters, COAM proposes to implement practical community based action components as part of UNEP’s Eco-DRR programme ‘Promoting improved ecosystem management in vulnerable countries for sustainable and disaster-resilient development’.

UNEP, MAIL and NEPA have determined the Koh-e-Baba mountains as key area in which to develop conservation and restoration work, because of a number of factors:

• harsh winter climatic conditions,
• the largely subsistence economy presently suffering bad harvests,
• the scattered nature of communities and
• the increasing rate of inflation

The COAM project will reduce community vulnerability to natural disasters, through landscape interventions, increase awareness of the multiple benefits provided by ecosystems and community engagement and provide a practical field based model for Eco-DRR in Afghanistan.