Future Terrains’ Pete Whitbread-Abrutat worked as part of UN Environment Afghanistan’s in-country team to provide strategic support to the executive office. Projects included: driving the development of MAP-X, a GIS-based platform for investigating natural resource management and climate risk issues in fragile states; reviewing internal corporate systems for QA/QC, reporting, monitoring and evaluation and knowledge management; assisting with the development of mentoring and learning initiatives for Afghan colleagues; and providing strategic support to landscape management planning in climate change-affected areas in Bamyan and Daikundi Provinces. A major piece of work involved co-ordinating and contributing to the development of a multi-disciplinary, practical book/ manual aimed at field practitioners and rural communities in Afghanistan to inform and assist with landscape restoration and management in marginal rural areas. Related educational packages were begun to drive the dissemination of this knowledge and enhance its use.
The work involved many meetings and discussions with key stakeholders in the Afghan government, the NGO sector and academic organisations and visits to project sites in rural parts of Bamyan Province and Daikundi Province and organising team workshops to develop joined-up approaches within the above projects.