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Central Afghanistan Rangelands: a History of Tribal Rule, Grazing, War, and Rebuilding

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Central Afghanistan Rangelands: a History of Tribal Rule, Grazing, War, and Rebuilding Central Afghanistan Rangelands: A History of Tribal Rule, Grazing, War, and Rebuilding Item Type text; Article Authors Robinett, Daniel; Miller, Daniel; Bedunah, Donald Citation Robinett, D., Miller, D., & Bedunah, D. (2008). Central Afghanistan Rangelands: A History of Tribal Rule, Grazing, War, and Rebuilding. Rangelands, 30(4), 2-12. DOI 10.2111/1551-501X(2008)30[2:CAR]2.0.CO;2 Publisher Society for Range Management Journal Rangelands Rights Copyright © Society for Range Management. Download date 23/09/2021 19:21:09 Item License http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Version Final published version Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/640578 Central Afghanistan Rangelands A History of Tribal Rule, Grazing, War, and Rebuilding By Daniel Robinett, Daniel Miller, and Donald Bedunah fghanistan, encompassing 63,000,000 ha, is a little larger than the states of Arizona and New Mexico combined and has a long history of human occupation. It is a culturally diverse Acountry peopled by tribes of Turkish, Persian, and Mongolian descent. The northern foothills of the Hindu Kush, the major mountain range of Afghanistan, are within the historic range of the domestication of wheat and barley and sheep and goats some 10,000 to 11,000 yr ago.1 The grazing of small fl ocks of closely herded sheep and goats over the last 4,000–5,000 yr has been an important factor in shaping the development of Afghan plant communities. Today rangelands comprise between 60% and 75% of the land area depending on the source of the information. These range- lands are critical for supplying Afghanistan with livestock products, fuels for heating and cooking, building materials, medicinal plants, and habitat for wildlife. Rangeland water- Bamiyan, Central Afghanistan, farmland and rangeland in the Hindu sheds feed the springs, streams, and rivers, and they are the Kush mountains. lifeblood of the country, nourishing nearly 4,000,000 ha of irrigated lands. In this paper we provide an overview of the rangelands of Central Afghanistan and the critical issues Historic Setting and problems regarding natural resource use and rangeland Afghanistan has a long and interesting history, and although management. To understand the current situation it is many people have tried to conquer this rugged landscape necessary to review the historic setting to appreciate how with its independent tribes, none have been able to control the rangelands were formed and why the current problems the region for long. Alexander the Great invaded the area are so daunting. As such, we begin with a discussion of in 340 BC and even married a Bactrian princess in the city Afghanistan’s history and describe the natural setting, of Balkh. Genghis Khan conquered the area in 1220 AD including geology, geography, hydrology, and climate, as and destroyed cities like Ghaznı¯, Hera¯t, Maza¯r-e Sharı¯f, well as agriculture and livestock. We then discuss the Central and Ba¯mia¯n. By the 1700s Afghan dynasties, dominated by Afghanistan rangelands of the Hindu-Kush, including the Pashtun tribes in the east, began a rule that continued aspects of rangeland inventory and range management. until recent times. During the mid-1800s through the 1900s 2 RRangelandsangelands Afghanistan was caught between the British Empire in India and the Russian empire to the north. The country was in the middle of a tug-of-war between the two great powers for nearly 100 yr. All present-day boundaries of Afghanistan were forced on the country by the British, the Russians, or a combination of the two.1 Russia consolidated its control in Central Asia by incorporating Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan into the Soviet Union in the 1920s.2 Over the next 50 yr Russian infl uence in the northern part of the country led to momentous changes in Afghanistan. Afghanistan was ruled by a royal family. King Mohammad Zahir Shah and Prime Minister Daoud Khan ruled from 1950 through the early 1970s, which was a peaceful and prosperous time.1 The king, who returned from exile after the fall of the Taliban, only recently died in late July 2007. Several Americans who lived in Kabul during those times The ruins of Da Ru Laman palace west of Kabul, 2006. told the principal author that Kabul was the nicest city in all of Central Asia to live and work in and raise a family. within Afghanistan fought for control of the country, and It is certainly a different city today! the country became engulfed in a civil war. Cities like Kabul By the late 1970s communist infl uence from the Soviet were shelled into rubble. By the mid-1990s the Taliban had Union resulted in a takeover of the Afghan government. formed and had defeated many of the tribal factions that The Russians used military force to prop up the faltering were fi ghting in the country. Taliban rule became more regime in 1979. For the next 10 yr the country was torn by oppressive with each passing year. The “Sunni” Taliban a violent guerilla war between the Russian military and brutalized and killed thousands of citizens, but especially tribal resistance, known as the mujahedeen, supported by the hard hit were the “Shi’a” Hazara in the central mountains. United States. The countryside was depopulated; large areas Nearly 1,000,000 Afghans died as a direct cause of war were mined; social and political institutions destroyed, and during these times and another 1,000,000 were maimed or agricultural and industrial infrastructure was damaged. The orphaned. Approximately 4,000,000 left the country as Russians pulled out in 1989, and the United States’ interest refugees.1 Countless others were left homeless and without in the country also waned. The result was that tribal factions their land or livestock. Nearly all educated Afghans left the country; some to Europe or the United States, many to Pakistan or Iran. International assistance in the form of skilled personnel, development projects, and educational assistance ceased during this time. Assistance in the form of food and health aid continued to be supported by a few non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations. During the chaos of 10 yr of Soviet war and the follow- ing 12 yr of civil war and confl ict the infrastructures of the government, education, and agriculture collapsed. In the last few years of Taliban rule universities were led by illiterate mullahs and classes were not even held. An entire genera- tion of students was denied education. In the countryside complex patterns of land tenure, ownership, and water rights were disrupted.3 In the absence of law and order local strongmen (warlords) consolidated control over land and resources. From 1997 through 2004 severe drought devas- tated rangelands, and many rural Afghans lost all or nearly all of their livestock. Of the 2,500,000 nomads in the coun- try over half lost their livestock and either left the country or settled in refugee camps.4 Many nomads lost access to historic winter or summer ranges and remain “bottled up” in smaller areas further damaging rangelands.5 Through Map of Afghanistan. all of this the population of the country increased from AAugustugust 22008008 3 15,000,000 in 1979 to over 29,000,000 today. Improved Turkmenistan to 7,485 m at the top of Mt Nawshak in the foreign assistance in child health care and nutrition has eastern Hindu Kush. contributed to the population increase as has the return of The geology of Afghanistan is defi ned by the collision refugees displaced by drought and fi ghting. of the Indian oceanic plate and the Asian continental In 2001, the United States–led international coalition plate. The uplift and folding of the Hindu Kush and Pamir joined with the Northern Alliance resistance fi ghters to ranges is due to this tectonic activity. The Chaman fault overthrow the Taliban and liberate Afghanistan. The newly runs along the eastern edge of the Hindu Kush from formed government under President Hamid Karzai is trying Kandahar through Kabul and forms the base of the Indian to rebuild the governmental and educational institutions plate. The Hari Rud fault runs across the center of the destroyed by decades of war as well as leading an inter- Hindu Kush from Hera¯t through Ba¯mia¯n and marks the national effort to rebuild the economy of the country. It is boundary of the Asian plate. The rocks are mainly meta- proving to be a diffi cult task.6 morphic (schist, gneiss, slate, and quartzite). Some areas Today, tribal areas around the Hindu Kush Mountains of unaltered sedimentary rocks like sandstone, shale, and still retain their customs, language, allegiances, and griev- limestone remain.7 ances. From the northeast and counter-clockwise the major The hydrology is defi ned by large rivers fed by snowmelt tribes include the Kirgiz, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Aimak, in the spring (March–May). The Amu Darya, Hari Rud, Persian, Balochi, Pashtun, and Nuristani. The Hazara Farah Rud, Helmand, Kabul, and Panjshir rivers all drain people reside in the high mountains in the center. The from the Pamir and Hindu Kush into the lowlands and religion is Islamic and these tribes are mostly Sunni with out of the country. Hydrographs peak in the spring with the exception of the Hazara, who are Shi’a. Dominant lan- occasional heavy fl oods due to excessive snowmelt and guages are Pashtun and Dari, the latter being a derivative of heavy rain. The rest of the year is characterized by low to Farsi (the language spoken in Iran). moderate stream fl ows. Numerous spring areas exist in In Afghanistan, the family is an important group, and smaller drainages, and these are often tapped for irrigation Afghan culture emphasizes loyalty fi rst to family members downstream by ancient underground canals and tunnels then clan, tribe, country, and government.
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