Afghanistan in pre-Islam times was considered one of the beautiful lands
There was significant irrigation, and the area was ntoed for its fruit trees and fertile fields. The Moslems, to break the back of Afghani resistance, destroyed the irrigation systems. So in that case we have human impact that diverted snow melt and limited rain to make things mroe beautiful, and then a destruction of the human infrastructure that left the land much less hospitable. But which was worse, from an enviro-purist pov?
Ed