A 2003 Encounter with the Taliban in a Combat Zone While Sampling Macroinvertebrates from a Mountain Stream in Shakar Dara, Afghanistan

Abstract

The global distribution of freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates inspired an American soldier, who was deployed to Afghanistan eight months after the September 11 attacks, to undertake a sampling expedition focused on these organisms in the subalpine region of Shakar Dara, Afghanistan. This initiative may represent the first instance of an American attempting to sample benthic macroinvertebrates in Afghanistan. During the expedition, a small sample of the Ephemeroptera-Plecoptera-Trichoptera (EPT) Complex was collected from the Shakar Dara River and preserved. While seining in a riffle, the soldier and his assistant encountered a truck loaded with a dozen heavily armed Taliban insurgents. The pair found themselves vastly outnumbered and outgunned, resulting in a tense standoff. Eventually, the Taliban crossed the river and disappeared over the horizon, bringing the sampling expedition to an abrupt end. The collected EPT samples were sent to a renowned university, where the Regent's Professor of Entomology reviewed them. He believes these samples could be undiscovered Type specimens awaiting classification. A review of the ecological literature on benthic macroinvertebrates revealed a significant lack of research from Afghanistan. The high mountains of the Hindu Kush drain into five major basins that contain thousands of seemingly pristine freshwater streams. These streams offer significant opportunities for ecologists, biologists, and entomologists to conduct scientific research. However, with the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s government and the Taliban's takeover, scientific academia and research are at risk of being completely eradicated.

Keywords: Stream sampling; Benthic macroinvertebrates; River Continuum; Ephemeroptera-Plecoptera-Trichoptera (EPT) Complex; Afghanistan; Taliban.

DOI: 10.7176/JEES/15-2-02

Publication date: March 30th 2025