More than 50% of Pistachio Trees Destroyed in Badghis

The main reason for the diminishing of these trees is the presence of the anti-government forces and nomads, local officials said

Thousands of people have taken residence in the pistachio forests of the western Badghis province. They are rooting up trees to prepare the land for their own cultivation and also use pistchio tree woods as firewood, head of the Badghis Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock directorate, Hafizullah Benish, said.

Animals kept by the nomads (kuchis) have also worsened the condition of forests, he added.

"If the trees are cut down from the surface, they can grow again but they are rooting them up using heavy agricultural machineries and tractors," Benish said.

He said that a major number of these trees is in the control of the anti-government forces and the government is not able to do anything to solve the problem.

The governor of Badghis said more than 10,000 families have resided in different parts of the pistachio forests in the province, and it will be difficult to force them out until they are not provided with shelter.

"We must provide alternative livelihood for the people, both for their fuel demands, as well as for their shelter to save the pistachio forests," the governor of Badghis, Dilbar jan Arman said.

"We don't know where to take them, if we plan to force them out of the forests," he added.

According to the figures, Badghis had some 94,000 hectares of pistachio land in the past, but the number has decreased to 28,000 hectares in the recent years.