Healing Afghanistan's environment.

At the request of the Transitional Islamic Government of Afghanistan, an international team largely funded by the European Commission embarked in October 2003 on a program to promote environmental governance and support rehabilitation of Afghanistan's war-ravaged environment and famished population. The US$5 million-plus, two-phase program will address priorities set in the country's national development budget and in UNEP's 2003 Afghanistan: Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment [see "Environmental Triage in Afghanistan," EHP 111 :A470-A473 (2003)]. The program will first focus on organizing and building capacity for a specialized environmental Afghan public administration. Beginning in 2004, phase two of the project will launch efforts directed toward strengthening the Department of the Environment, establishing protected areas, and integrating environmental education into Afghan schools and universities.