Securing sustainability through community based Rangeland Conservation, Environmental education and livelihood production
Traditional rangeland management practices relied on rotational grazing, maintaining ‘grazer free areas’ where habitat can recover. However, decades of conflict and poverty have resulted in more destructive grazing patterns which degrade the local environment. The purpose of this project is to increase community awareness of traditional rangeland management practices, build local capacity and capture best practice which will then be used to inform national agricultural policies. This project builds on the success and learning achieved through an ecological restoration project carried out by COAM in partnership with the World Food Programme in 2012.
The project area, Koh-e-Baba mountains
Furthermore, a regional Environment Centre will be established, the first if its kind in Afghanistan. This center welcomes everyone from local communities, women and youth, to University students, government staff, and natural resource managers and aims to encourage a sense of ownership, pride and motivation with regards to sustainable management of their natural resources and the many practical, medicinal and livelihood values of biodiversity. The center will also be home to a ‘Young Conservation Leaders’ programme which taps into a lack of opportunities for young conservation oriented Afghan men and women.
An ‘Eco-lab’ attached to the center will provide capacity building and a demonstration site for outdoor practical biodiversity monitoring, gardening with native food species, sustainable livelihood options such as bee-keeping, traditional ethnobotanical knowledge, composting and recycling, and green technologies. Finally, this project supports communities with the establishment of indigenous tree, plant and shrub nurseries and village eco-training centers, which will enable them to establish their own woodlots which will help reduce land degradation, increase ecological regeneration and serve as a significant fuel source in the future.
Downloads
Download project summary sheet here. PROJECT SUMMARY SHEET