Afghanistan registers 10 Forest Management Associations: A step forward towards Climate Change mitigation through Sustainable Forest Management
On 14th of April 2018, FAO organized a joint event with Directorate General of Natural Recourse Management (DGNRM) and presented registration certificates to the 10 newly appointed Forest Management Associations (FMAs). A step forward in the direction towards achieving the objectives of a GEF funded FAO project, which is supporting the DGNRM in reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions through community-based natural resource management.
These FMAs have been formally registered with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) under the new forest law. As formal structures of MAIL, the FMAs will be able to open bank accounts and operate as community based associations to enable sustainable management the forests in Parwan and Nangarhar provinces. Read the press release here.
During the event, the Mr. Shawli Shahid, Deputy Governor of Parwan province, presented the FAO representation in Afghanistan with a “Certificate of Appreciation” in context of the results achieved by the FAO-GEF project. Pressing on the significance of climate change, Mr. Shahid said, “Climate change is a vital aspect for today’s world, and keeping the environment clean and avoiding deforestation is the real need of Parwan residents. I am very happy with the establishment of these FMAs through FAO’s GEF project which would help us a lot in future.”
Through the GEF funded project, “Reducing GHG Emissions Through Community Forests and Sustainable Biomass Energy in Afghanistan”, FAO is helping the country address some of the key capacity gaps identified in Afghanistan’s Initial National Communication to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Afghanistan, with FAO’s support, is making efforts to develop appropriate sustainable biomass energy systems (SBES) for rural communities, based on the principles of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) and community-based forest management (CBFM).