Hemp plants possess a spectacular array of environmental benefits that can be used in healing environmental damages, in addition to promoting sustainability. Hemp is often referred to as a natural purifier, as it sequesters atmospheric carbon, extracts soil pollutants, and offers an alternative to deforestation. Additionally, hemp materials and ailments are more sustainably sourced than the common products that exist today. The hemp used in the previously mentioned processes is not grown for agricultural or consumption purposes, but rather for processing its fiber and leaves into building materials and biofuels.
Carbon Sequestration
This plant is excellent at trapping carbon as just one acre of hemp can sequester 10 tons of carbon dioxide. This process would work incredibly in Afghanistan as this city is ranked the world’s fifth most polluted country (2020 World Population Review). Industrial hemp farms could not only make a surplus of hemp products but also lessen the damaging effects of greenhouse gasses.
Phytoremediation & Soil Fertility
Afghanistan’s soils have been damaged by drought and chemical pollutants from military action. Hemp can revert these soils to nutrient-dense and fertile agricultural land by way of phytoremediation. This refers to the plant’s ability to pull toxins out of the soil. These absorbed toxins can then be used in biofuels. Hemp is even being used in phytoremediation in Chernobyl. As hemp extracts pollutants, it is simultaneously cycling beneficial nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen into the soil. In this way, hemp acts as a natural fertilizer and stimulates biodiversity.
Deforestation
By 2013, Afghanistan had already lost nearly 50% of its natural forests to deforestation, almost 10 years later the number has only increased. Hemp provides a solution to this environmental crisis as its fiber can be used in place of wood for many products. While trees take 20-80 years to mature for industrial use, hemp needs merely 3-4 months. Hemp does not require nearly as much water or natural inputs as trees, and its cultivation uses significantly less manual labor.
The hemp plant’s ability to reverse environmental damages and create sustainable byproducts can be revolutionary in the context of environmental cleanliness and will certainly make significant progress in Afghanistan.
