Afghanistan: Taliban's 'Green Force' Battles Illegal Logging in Afghanistan's Vanishing Forests [Video]

Jun 1, 2025 | Osama Bin Javaid
Al Jazeera
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Afghanistan’s forests have shrunk dramatically due to decades of illegal logging by armed groups, with only 10% of tree cover remaining in some areas. The Taliban government has launched a "Green Force" to combat deforestation, confiscating thousands of feet of smuggled timber and arresting offenders. While deforestation was banned in 2002, past corruption and conflict undermined enforcement. Authorities now use community watchdogs and religious messaging, with imams framing conservation as an Islamic duty. However, poverty persists and many still rely on firewood for survival, complicating environmental efforts. Biodiversity shows tentative signs of recovery in conflict-scarred regions like Kunar, where airstrikes once drove wildlife away. True ecological restoration, officials admit, depends on economic stability alongside stricter policing.