Nestled in a picturesque valley in the Hindu Kush mountains, Panjshir province has long been a popular drawcard for tourists, both local and foreign.

Despite being a popular destination for visitors, Panjshir lacks basic infrastructure to cater to the growing number of people visiting the valley.

That however is about to change.

According to Panjshir’s media office, a two-storey hotel, with modern amenities, will be built on five acres of land by the Ministry of Information and Culture.

In addition, the Bazarak Panjshir municipality plans to establish a terminal for public transport vehicles.

The planning process for the hotel is already underway and construction is expected to start soon, said Rahmatullah Mohammadi, the mayor of Bazarak Panjshir.

Also on the cards is a recreational park, complete with a swimming pool. This is being established in the center of Panjshir and will cost an estimated 100 million AFN.

Since regaining control of the country in August 2021, the Islamic Emirate has made inroads into restoring security across the nation.

This has led to a sharp increase in domestic and foreign tourism, as people now flock to the many natural wonders of the country as well as heritage sites that date back thousands of years.

United Nations agencies are trying to unlock key climate financing for Afghanistan, one of the world's most vulnerable countries to climate change which has not received approval for any fresh such funds since the 2021 Islamic Emirate takeover, Reuters reported citing two U.N. officials.

Plagued by drought and deadly floods, Afghanistan has been unable to access U.N. climate funds due to political and procedural issues since the IEA came to power.

But with the population growing more desperate as climate woes stack up, U.N. agencies are hoping to unseal project financing for the fragile country to boost its resilience.

If successful, this would be the first time new international climate finance would flow into the arid, mountainous nation in three years.

"There are no climate sceptics in Afghanistan," said Dick Trenchard, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) country director for Afghanistan. "You see the impact of climate change and its environmental effects everywhere you go."

Two U.N. agencies are currently drawing together proposals they hope to submit next year to shore up nearly $19 million in financing from the U.N's Global Environment Facility (GEF), part of the financial mechanism of the 2015 U.N. Paris Agreement on climate change.

These include the FAO, which hopes to get support for a project costing $10 million that would improve rangeland, forest and watershed management across up to four provinces in Afghanistan, while avoiding giving money directly to IEA authorities.

The U.N. Development Programme, meanwhile, hopes to secure $8.9 million to improve the resilience of rural communities where livelihoods are threatened by increasingly erratic weather patterns, the agency told Reuters. If that goes ahead, it plans to seek another $20 million project.

"We're in conversations with the GEF, the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund - all these major climate financing bodies - to reopen the pipeline and get resources into the country, again, bypassing the de facto authorities," said Stephen Rodriques, UNDP resident representative for Afghanistan.

National governments often work alongside accredited agencies to implement projects that have received U.N. climate funds. But because the IEA government is not recognised by U.N. member states, U.N. agencies would both make the request and serve as the on-the-ground partner to carry out the project.

FLOODS, DROUGHT

"If one of the countries most impacted by climate change in the world cannot have access to (international climate funds), it means something isn't working," Rodriques said, adding that any funds should come alongside continued dialogue on human and women's rights.

Flash floods have killed hundreds in Afghanistan this year, and the heavily agriculture-dependent country suffered through one of the worst droughts in decades that ended last year. Many subsistence farmers, who make up much of the population, face deepening food insecurity in one of the world's poorest countries.

The FAO and UNDP will need to receive initial approvals by the GEF secretariat before they can submit their full proposals for a final decision from the GEF Council, which comprises representatives from 32 member states.

If the agencies get that first green light, Trenchard said, they would aim to submit their proposals in early 2025.

We "are awaiting guidance as to whether it would be possible to proceed," Trenchard said.

No foreign capital has formally recognised the IEA government, and many of its members are subject to sanctions. The United States has frozen billions in central bank funds since the IEA took over and imposed restrictions on education of girls and women.

Many human rights activists have condemned the IEA's policies and some have questioned whether interaction with the IEA and funnelling funds into the country could undermine foreign governments' calls for a reversal on women's rights restrictions.

The IEA says it respects women's rights in accordance with Sharia law.

Countries mired in conflict and its aftermath say they have struggled to access private investment, as they are seen as too risky. That means U.N. funds are even more critical to their populations, many of whom have been displaced by war and weather.

IEA members are attending the ongoing annual U.N. climate negotiations COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan as observers for the first time.

The IEA's presence could build trust between Afghanistan and international donors, said Abdulhadi Achakzai, founder of the Afghanistan climate nonprofit Environmental Protection Trainings and Development Organization, on the sidelines of COP29.

"It will be a safer world for the future to include Afghanistan officially in the agenda," he said. "We see this is an opportunity. There are funds for Afghanistan, we just need to secure it."

Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Abdul Salam Hanafi says the Islamic Emirate supports the initiatives of the youth for the development of the country and efforts are underway to expand vocational training in the country.

Hanafi made these remarks on Wednesday at the end of the second national exhibition of innovations of students of the Technical and Vocational Educational and Training Authority (TVET-A) in Kabul.

“Our young students who are interested in learning techniques, and vocational training, we should provide the opportunity for them,” said Hanafi.

Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi also said the industrial sector of the country needs experts.

“Afghanistan's industry needs cadres who graduate from Technical and Vocational Educational and Training Authority,” said Aziz.

In this exhibition, which was launched for four days in Kabul’s Badam Bagh, students displayed their technical innovations in 230 booths.