Afghanistan Protects Threatened Species
A tree was amongst the 15 species added to the Protected Species List.
This list includes the elusive large-billed reed warbler only recently discovered in Afghanistan by researchers working for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) on a USAID-funded project. There are now a total of 48 protected species in Afghanistan.
NEPA, in cooperation with WCS, took immediate steps to protect the large-billed reed warbler, cited by BirdLife International as the world’s least known bird species, because by law, newly discovered species receive automatic legal protection in Afghanistan. Such protection is crucial since Afghanistan may constitute one of the only known principal breeding habitats for this rare species which, previous to 2006, had only been known from two specimens: one collected in India in 1867 followed by the discovery of a single bird in Thailand in 2006.
In addition to the large-billed reed warbler, Afghanistan listed 14 other species (seven mammals, six birds, and one tree) including two eagle species, a cat species, and the striped hyena.
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