LSE Literary Festival 2017 | Revolutions in the Afghan Desert: Water, green tech and illegal opium c

Speaker(s): Tim Buckley and David Mansfield | Over the last fifteen years there has been a revolution in the deserts of south and southwest Afghanistan. Across the provinces of Helmand, Farah, Kandahar and Nimroz windswept sand and rock has been replaced by over 300,000 hectares of agricultural land. Driven by population pressure, opium prohibition and conflict 1.2 million people have settled in what was once uninhabitable desert land. Tim Buckley is Chief Operating Officer in Alcis. Tim is well known and respected across geographic, defence and intelligence networks. He served in the British Army for ten years, providing critical GIS insight, expertise, support and advice to organisations worldwide. A GIS and remote sensing expert with over fifteen years' experience in conflict and fragile environments, Tim has recently spent over two years working within the counter narcotics and agriculture sectors in Afghanistan. David Mansfield currently works as an independent consultant, advisin