Abdulrahman Hafez, the general director of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) on Monday called on companies and the public to reduce the production and use of plastics.

Marking World Environment Day under the theme of “Fighting Plastic Pollution”, Hafez urged business owners to start using paper bags instead.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the occasion, Hafez said: “We ask the industrialists and factory owners of the country to gradually stop the production of plastic bags and instead provide the basis for the production of paper bags.”

NEPA officials also called on the international community to resume work on 22 environmental-related projects that have been suspended.

In addition, the Minister of Public Health said at the ceremony that the Islamic Emirate is ready to fully cooperate with the international community in the field of environmental protection and air pollution control.

Dr. Qalandar Ebad said air pollution contributes to the high levels of cancer and that there are limited oncology treatment options in the country. He said however, that the ministry is drawing up a national program, in line with global standards, to treat cancer patients.

“One of the causes of cancer is definitely plastic pollution, and experts know how plastic causes cancer in humans. And cancer is a disease that we don’t have a single specialist in the cancer department in Afghanistan today,” Ebad said.

According to the United Nations Environment Program, more than 430 million tons of plastic is produced worldwide every year, half of which is designed for single use. The UN also stated that more than 20,000 truckloads of plastic garbage are dumped into oceans, seas and lakes every day.

Abdul Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy, says that: “Due to the lack of development in the villages of Afghanistan, unfortunately, in many cases, our compatriots use contaminated water, which can have destructive and negative consequences in the reproduction of diseases for our compatriots.”

In 1972, the United Nations General Assembly named June 5 as World Environment Day. And Afghanistan, like other countries in the world, wants to play an active role in improving the environment.

The minister of energy and water Abdul Latif Mansoor said in a meeting on Sunday in Kabul with representatives of Chinese companies that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) is eager to invest in energy production from coal resources and solar power projects. 

At the meeting, the Chinese expressed their willingness to invest in energy production projects and requested the cooperation of the leadership of the ministry in this regard.

The minister welcomed their enthusiasm and said grounds had been paved for investment and for job creation opportunities. 

Mansoor said that in order to speed up the investment process, an agreement should be signed between the two sides as soon as possible and with other relevant departments so that work can start. 

Shahabuddin Delawar, the Minister of Mines and Petroleum of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), has distributed mining licenses to 14 people during his visit to Baghlan province.

According to Bakhtar news agency, Delawar said that the licenses were issued temporarily for 9 months, and for those who can operate according to the standards of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, licenses will be extended.

Meanwhile, Aminullah Ahmadi, the head of the coal enterprise in the north of the country, said that according to their survey, there are coal mines in 400 areas of Baghlan.

He also said that the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum considers itself obliged to grant licenses for miners, monitor their activities, cancel licenses in case of problems or bring changes considering the national interests.

Miners are also required to extract specified mines, preventing the illegal sale of minerals, observe technical standards during extraction, avoid contract with a second person, provide monitoring facilities for the delegations of the Islamic Emirate, prevent the employment of children in mining and using modern tools of mining.