Afghanistan has established its first national park in a spectacular region of deep blue lakes separated by natural dams of travertine, a mineral deposit.
Band-e-Amir is visited by thousands of Afghans and pilgrims, though foreign tourism stalled with the increase in violence since 1979. Declaring this area a park should help protect its fragile environment. The new park is near the Bamyan Valley, where 1,500-year-old giant Buddha statues were destroyed by the Taleban. Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency (Nepa) said the creation of the park would help attract international tourism and obtain World Heritage Status.
Much of the park’s wildlife has been lost, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). But recent WCS surveys show it still contains ibex, a species of wild goat, and urial, a type of wild sheep. Other wildlife include wolves, foxes, smaller mammals and fish, and various bird species including the Afghan snow finch, which is believed to be the only bird found exclusively in Afghanistan.
April, 2009 – BBC News