Pakistan, June 7 -- Communities across Afghanistan are increasingly embracing tree planting and forest restoration after decades of conflict-driven deforestation that severely damaged the country's natural landscape. Local residents, environmental groups and authorities are working together to restore green spaces, improve livelihoods and strengthen resilience against climate-related challenges in both rural and urban areas.

Experts estimate that Afghanistan lost nearly half of its forest cover between the 1979 Soviet invasion and the fall of the first Taliban government in the early 2000s. However, deforestation has slowed considerably in recent years, while official data shows forest cover has increased by 35 percent since 2011, despit...