Tackling Ozone Depleting Substances as Casualties Mount in Afghanistan

Aug 25, 2017 | UN Environment
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Kabul – On a recent Monday morning on 24 July, the Director General of National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), H.E.Mostafa Zaher and his environment team along with UN Environment and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) were strategizing improving the country’s environment and reviewing graphs projected on a meeting-room wall. Outside, not very far away, at the same time a Monday bomb attack on a minibus carrying government workers in Kabul killed at least 31 people. As Afghanistan continues to transform itself after years of conflict and with turmoil on the rise, why would anyone here care about the ozone and ozone depleting substances? After all, today Afghans want to get on with their lives, find decent employment, put a roof over their heads, meals on the table, and safely send their children to school. In the capital city, there are signs of recovery virtually everywhere - sprawling hotels, glitzy shopping centres, new buildings and expensive homes are on the rise. The post war expansion, however, also has a downside with Afghanistan becoming the dumping ground of unwanted goods. The influx of used cars and second-hand home appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioning units, has left a hidden yet harmful mark on the environment.