Terminal evaluation of “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by promoting community forestry, removing barriers to sustainable biomass energy, and laying the groundwork for climate change mitigation in Afghanistan”

Afghanistan’s high diversity of rangeland and forest ecosystems provide valuable goods and services for local communities. Unsustainable land and resource management practices, as well as climate changes, are accelerating the degradation of these ecosystems and affecting local livelihoods. FAO recognizes community based natural resource management (CBNRM) and Sustainable Biomass Energy Systems (SBES) as potential tools to address these issues, and implemented the project in the Parwan and Nangarhar provinces between August 2016 and July 2019.

The evaluation presents the results of SBES and CBNRM in the project, both of which were successful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the policy and awareness raising results. It also assesses the security challenges behind the project management decision making, gender issues, and other barriers and risks that may prevent the progress of future projects.