The Registan Desert ( or ), also known as Sistan Desert, is an extremely arid plateau region located between

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 18 ...

and

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

provinces in the south-eastern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. It is a sandy desert consisting of small, red sand hills about high, sand-covered plains, and open rocky and clay-covered areas. The underlying base of the hills consists of partly stabilized ancient transverse dunes, reflecting a west-to-east wind and nearly unlimited

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

supply. The desert is very sparsely populated by Baluch and

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

nomads. The desert is gradually encroaching on surrounding agricultural areas. A severe drought in 1998 caused the displacement of approximately 100,000

nomadic people Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pas ...

from the Registan desert region. Most of them now live in temporary settlements between the Arghandab and

Helmand River The Helmand river (Pashto/Dari: ; Ancient Greek: Ἐτύμανδρος, ''Etýmandros''; Latin: '), also spelled Helmend, or Helmund, Hirmand, is the longest river in Afghanistan and the primary watershed for the endorheic Sistan Basin. It o ...

s and Registan. A large number are also being supported by the UN in camps for

internally displaced persons An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced displacement, forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the Refugee#Definitions ...

(IDPs) in Kandahar Province. The UN is currently seeking strategies to return the nomads to their traditional livelihood of raising livestock in Registan. The Registan Desert is migrating westward, encroaching on former agricultural areas. The

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

team reports that "up to 100 villages have been submerged by windblown dust and sand". In the country's northwest, sand dunes are moving onto agricultural land, their path cleared by the loss of stabilizing vegetation due to firewood gathering and

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

. The UNEP team observed sand dunes nearly high blocking roads, forcing residents to establish new routes.

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NASA Image - August 20, 2000
{{Deserts Deserts of Afghanistan

See also

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