Climate change threatens Afghanistan's heritage

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan－The archaeological treasures of Afghanistan's Bamiyan province are facing a new and daunting threat: climate change.

Nestled in the heart of the Hindu Kush mountains, the Bamiyan valley's picturesque cliffs－where centuries-old Buddha statues were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001－still contain a network of caves housing temples, monasteries, and Buddhist paintings.

The valley is also home to the Silk-Road era Shahr-e Gholghola fortress and the Shar-e Zohak citadel to the east.

Experts say that a pattern of dry spells followed by heavy rain, and larger than usual spring snow-melts is putting this historic art and architecture at risk of destruction.

Afghan officials warned in a 2016 United Nations report that the structures "may collapse and suffer from severe erosion "due to conditions directly linked to climate change.

"The erosion processes are much faster, the rains more devastating and the wind erosion stronger, which has an extremely harsh impact on the sites," Philippe Marquis, the director of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan said.

Marquis－who has explored and worked in the region for decades－explains that Afghanistan "is very fragile geologically, especially as vegetation cover has greatly diminished" due to deforestation.

French imaging company Iconem concurred, saying Shar-e Zohak is "very fragile" due to erosion that has increased considerably over the last 30 years.

For Baqe Ghulami, 21, who hails from Saikhand district in northern Bamiyan, climate change has long been a reality residents have had to confront.

"The weather is changing, now summers are warmer and winters colder," he says, while overlooking the empty spaces where the two towering Buddha statues once stood.

Many of the artifacts pre-date the arrival of Islam to the region but despite the fact they come from another religion, the residents said they proudly defended the area's history as their own.

From the empty caves, visitors can see the incomplete Cultural Center, construction of which began in 2015.

It aims to educate visitors about the urgent need to preserve the area's heritage.

"There is no benefit if people just see (the sites) without information," says Ali Reza Mushfiq, 26, the director of the Department of Archaeology at Bamiyan University, complaining that a dearth of funding leaves people in the dark－including his own students who lack access to books.

The archaeologist readily admits that "erosion is increasing", but believes the real danger comes from "human influence at the site", including looters, who are rampant in Afghanistan.

The Shar-e Gholghola Fortress and other key sites are now guarded to protect against such problems.

The removal of land mines from the area has seen thousands visit in recent years, but the influx of recent visitors has done little to change the reality on the ground.

"We must start training …(the) local people to teach them how not to destroy the site," says Mushfiq, adding that some residents continue to store feed and house livestock in the historic sites.

AFP