Photo: Akmal Dawi/IRIN

8am: Under Taliban rule, the control over environmental destruction and climate change impacts, where the latter exacerbates the former, remains unaddressed. The current regime not only downplays these issues but also lacks representation in important international climate change forums. Instead, they contribute to environmental degradation. With the Taliban’s interference or neglect, forest fires are ignited and the process of deforestation continues. Droughts have worsened desertification trends. Qatari sheiks and other business partners of the Taliban freely travel to Afghanistan and engage in hunting endangered and rare bird species. Click here to read more (external link).