Food security hotspot areas due to snowmelt-related flood (WFP, UNEP & NEPA - 2016)

Major negative impacts of increased snowmelt-related floods on food security and livelihoods seem to be concentrated along rivers in the eastern part of the Helmand river basin—where increased risk of snowmelt floods over the past thirty years overlaps with high livelihood vulnerability to flooding.

Southern Intensively irrigated Vegetable and Orchard Zone (9), where food insecurity is generally high—in part due to security issues which prevent households from working on their fields or accessing markets. Most households depend on irrigation from the Amu Darya and its tributaries to grow grains, vegetables and fruits. Poppy production is also high. Most settlements and fields are therefore clustered near river courses, making them highly vulnerable to snowmelt-related riverine floods in spring and summer.

Source: The map comes from a report "Climate Change in Afghanistan: What does it Mean for Rural Livelihoods and Food Security?", which was produced jointly by the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Afghanistan's National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA). The map was produced based on the livelihood zones produced by FEWSNET.