7 April 2010 - The First Scientific Seminar on Environmental Concepts in Islam was held today at the Kabul University.

The well-attended seminar at the university auditorium was a joint effort of Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) and the Faculty of Theology of Kabul University, in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The seminar was opened by speakers from all the three organizing agencies and the Ministry of Higher Education.

Some 250 participants from various ministries and university students attended the seminar where religious scholars and leaders were invited to discuss the environmental concepts in Islam.

A documentary on Afghanistan’s environmental situation was also produced by NEPA and shown to the participants.

The topics discussed in the day-long seminar include the responsibility of every Muslim person in Islam regarding environmental conservation; environmental ethics in Islam; cleanliness in Islam and its role in environmental preservation; religious commands in narcotics and the negative impact of narcotics on the environment; and general environment rules in Islam.

Among the seminar speakers were Al-haj Muhammad Gran, Head of the Faculty of Theology of Kabul University; Engineer Najibullah Yamin, Deputy Director-General of NEPA; Mr Sarwar Danesh, Officer-in-Charge of the Ministry of Higher Education; and Abdul Wali Modaqiq, Officer-in-Charge of UNEP in Afghanistan.

The speakers all called for sustainable development where Afghanistan’s environment should be conserved for the effective use not only of the present generation but also of all generations of Afghans to come.

UNEP has been working closely with the Government – especially the National Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock – to develop environmental and natural resource management capacity at the national, provincial and community levels.

By Aurora Verceles Alambra, UNAMA

Website: UNEP