United Nations Calls for Greater Assistance to Afghans in Fight Against Opium Cultivation
ROME, 24 October -- "The annual Afghanistan Opium Survey for 2002, conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (ODC*) has confirmed earlier indications of the considerable level of opium production in the country this year", the Executive Director, Antonio Maria Costa, announced at a press conference here today.
Presenting the findings of the Survey, he said that 90 per cent of cultivation was concentrated in just five provinces in Afghanistan: Helmand in the south, followed by Nangarhar in the east, Badakhshan in the north, Uruzgan in the south/centre and Kandahar in the south.
"This year's survey has been conducted under the most challenging circumstances because of security concerns. The methodology was therefore based on high-resolution satellite images complemented by extensive ground verification and targeted ground surveys," Mr. Costa said.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has conducted annual opium surveys in Afghanistan since 1994, tracking the dramatic increase of the production in the Taliban years. By the late 1990s, Afghanistan provided about 70 per cent of global production of illicit opium, with Myanmar accounting for 22 per cent, and Lao People's Democratic Republic about 3 per cent.
ROME, 24 October -- "The annual Afghanistan Opium Survey for 2002, conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (ODC*) has confirmed earlier indications of the considerable level of opium production in the country this year", the Executive Director, Antonio Maria Costa, announced at a press conference here today.
Presenting the findings of the Survey, he said that 90 per cent of cultivation was concentrated in just five provinces in Afghanistan: Helmand in the south, followed by Nangarhar in the east, Badakhshan in the north, Uruzgan in the south/centre and Kandahar in the south.
"This year's survey has been conducted under the most challenging circumstances because of security concerns. The methodology was therefore based on high-resolution satellite images complemented by extensive ground verification and targeted ground surveys," Mr. Costa said.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has conducted annual opium surveys in Afghanistan since 1994, tracking the dramatic increase of the production in the Taliban years. By the late 1990s, Afghanistan provided about 70 per cent of global production of illicit opium, with Myanmar accounting for 22 per cent, and Lao People's Democratic Republic about 3 per cent.