Energy Afghanistan is one of the lowest countries in the world when it comes to electricity consumption per capita, and around two thirds of the population does not have access to stable power. Bamiyan City is one of the areas that suffer harshly from the absence of a stable and reliable source of power. This issue, according to the United Nations Development Program, is the biggest challenge that is slowing down its development( NPR 2015).
Current Attempts Toward Sustainable Development
United Nations Environmental Programme( UNEP) UNEP, through the sub-program Disasters and Conflict, focuses on areas that go through natural and human-made disasters, wars and conflicts. The role of UNEP is to provide post-crisis assessment and recovery plan by proposing recommendations. It also collaborates with local authorities and governments to enhance resource management and reduce risks, provide them with training services and technical assistance when needed. During the past decade, UNEP successfully formed Afghanistan’ s National Environmental Protection Agency( NEPA), developed an Environmental Impact Assessment sector and strengthened planning for Climate Change adaptation( United Nations Environment Program 2015).
Group for the Environment, Renewable Energy and Solidarity( GERES) GERES is a non-governmental organization that focuses on clean and sustainable energy and preservation of natural resources by developing technologies and providing services that help reduce fuel poverty issues in the world. GERES have been working on a number of projects to enhance the energy efficiency levels of homes and public buildings in different cities in Afghanistan. In 2014, GERES started working on a new project in Bamiyan, aims at improving the energy efficiency of houses and provide affordable solutions to heat spaces during harsh winters. The project also attempts to spread awareness at the community level( GERES 2015).
Strategies for Sustainable Development in Bamiyan City
In this section, a comprehensive set of solutions and recommendations have been proposed to lay the foundation of a sustainable development in Bamiyan City. The recommendations will be divided into two sections: 1. Provides generic guidelines for sustainable development is post-conflict areas adopted from Developed Guidance Notes on National Sustainable Development Strategies in Post-conflict Countries published by the UNDESA, Division for Sustainable Development.
2. Provides specific and more detailed solutions for the challenges that are standing in the way of development in Bamiyan.
Generic Strategies
According to the UNDESA Division for Sustainable Development, the following must be taken into consideration:
• Effort must be put into establishing a comprehensive understanding of the nature of the conflict in Afghanistan in general and in Bamiyan City more specifically. It is imperative that planning for a sustainable development in a post-conflict country addresses conflict relapse prevention, which is highly possible in many cases. One of the important facts to be taken into consideration in Bamiyan is that the population is mainly composed of Hazara people, currently a religious minority in Afghanistan.
Post-conflict sustainable development of Bamiyan city in Afghanistan 353