At
long last, the inevitable military strikes by US-led coalition
are now pounding Afghanistan with the avowed intention of
neutralising the much-touted enemy. Curiously though, striking
a strange note of harmony with the rhetorical justifications
for the first war of the twenty-first century, are a great
number of sympathetic voices too, including those of the
coalition, who mouth strong words of concern for the safety
and well-being of the hapless civilian population of the
country, which has so unfortunately been caught up in the
vortex of this ‘crime and punishment’ game.
In a sense,
it is a history of sorts being made when we witness the unique
combination of two different types of payloads being air-dropped on
Afghanistan – deadly bombs and accurate tomahawks that blaze a fiery
trail of destruction during the night, while relief and succour comes to
the bedraggled lot during the day in the form of rations and medicines.
Being fortified with such a well conceived humanitarian icing, it is
quite possible that the inherent ravages of this war might fail to prick
the collective conscience of a lot of peace-loving people, as far as
human suffering is concerned.
But I wonder
whether the non-human subject of my concern is tenable enough to be even
mentioned at such a time. The month of October is the time when a lot of
migratory waterfowl would be present in Afghanistan, temporarily
inhabiting the lakes and wetlands there, before undertaking the final
leg of their southward journey to better climes in India. Given the
present state of turmoil that exists there, it is obvious that the fate
of migratory waterfowl is bound to be of least priority in Afghanistan
at the moment, and it can only be speculated as to what adverse effects
the war is likely to have on these species, once their habitat areas get
caught in the cross-fire.
One does not
have to be a military strategist to presume that after the initial salvo
of missiles is directed at the cities to neutralise the administrative
and military assets of the retreating Taliban, the next phase of action
is likely to be spread out over remote areas of the country, where the
intended targets will supposedly take refuge. This will be the time for
real concern for the birds, since some of Afghanistan's prime wetlands
are bound to be located in these remote areas. Once military action
starts in these areas, it would cause extensive disturbance to the
resident and migratory waterfowl which would be either wintering, or
staging in the lakes such as Ab-e-Istada & Dashte Nawar in Ghazni
province, and Kole Hashmat Khan near Kabul.
According to
past studies, the wetland ecosystem of Afghanistan is created by its
rivers that have no natural outlet to the sea, and hence they drain into
a series of depressions, which form large shallow saline lakes and
marshes. The beds of these wetlands are constituted of the sediments
transported by the rivers, which makes them the most biologically
productive ecosystems in the country, and therefore constitute viable
waterfowl habitats.
Of the seven
wetlands in Afghanistan, the three considered by ornithologists as being
of international importance for migrating and wintering waterfowls are
Ab-e-Istada and Dashte Nawar which are important habitats for migrating
or wintering waders and ducks. They also support large breeding colonies
of greater flamingoes (Phoenicopterus ruber). In addition,
Ab-e-Istada also has the distinction of being regularly visited by the
entire migrating populations of the highly endangered Siberian crane (Grus
leucogeranus). The third important wetland is the Kole Hashmat Khan
on the outskirts of Kabul, which is also supposed to be rich in bird
biodiversity, hosting a large number of ducks and coots during winters.
As things
stand today, I believe that there can be no doubting the presumption
that the high-powered strikes being currently launched in and around
these areas, are sure to be potent enough to destabilize the birds, as
they go about their natural business of wintering or staging in the
lakes as part of their natural migratory pattern.
However,
notwithstanding the fact that Afghanistan has been consistently ravaged
by war during the past 20 years or so, one can but fervently hope that
during all these years the birds have found ways and means to circumvent
the adversity brought upon them by the never-ending follies of man.