Climate Change Jeopardizes Afghanistan's Failing Heritage

The archaeological treasures of Afghanistan's Bamiyan province are facing a new and possibly more daunting threat of climate change after bearing the brunt of jihadist dynamite and looting by thieves.

Experts say that a pattern of dry spells followed through heavy rain, and massive than usual spring snowmelts are placing this ancient art and architecture at risk of destruction.

Afghan officers warned in a 2016 United Nations file that the structures might crumble and suffer from severe erosion because of conditions directly linked to weather trade.

Philippe Marquis, the director of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan, told AFP the erosion process became "much faster, the rains much devastating and the wind erosion stronger," which has a very harsh impact on the areas.

Afghanistan "is very fragile geologically, specifically as vegetation cowl has substantially diminished" due to deforestation, according to Marquis-who has worked in the region for decades.

French imaging business Iconem agreed, announcing Shar-e Zohak is "very fragile" because of erosion that has grown considerably over the last 30 years.

For Baqe Ghulami, who resides from the Saikhand district in northern Bamiyan, climate exchange has long been a fact residents have needed to confront.

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

Many of the artifacts came during the arrival of Islam to the place; the residents who told AFP proudly defended the area's history as their own despite the appearance of other religions.

'Erosion is increasing'

Site visitors can see the Cultural Center from the empty caves, which started production in 2015; however, it has yet to be completed. It aims to teach tourists about the urgent need to maintain the area's heritage.

Ali Reza Mushfiq, director of the Department of Archeology at Bamiyan University, said there is no advantage if human beings see [the sites] without learning.

Mushfiq also expressed concerns that a shortage of funding has left many in the dark-which includes his college students who lack access to books.

The archaeologist admitted that "erosion is increasing," but believes the actual hazard comes from "humans who made an impact on the site," including looters, which is rampant in Afghanistan.

"We should start teaching [the] locals how now not to destroy the sire," says Mushfiq, including that some inhabitants preserve to retain feed and home livestock inside the ancient site.

However, the greatest threat for Marquis no longer comes from local citizens encroaching on the site from theft.

Marquis said the theft - even if it's drastic - is much less damaging than the destruction caused by erosion.

Mitigating the impacts of abrasion and the results of climate change would cost billions of greenbacks in Afghanistan, but the country has little capability to shoulder such a burden.

The Global Adaptation Initiative, run via the University of Notre Dame in the US, presently ranks Afghanistan 173 out of the 181 nations it scored in terms of a nation's vulnerability and adaptability to climate change.