It is perhaps the only solution in the search for a better future for Afghanistan that world leaders have not yet considered: gardening.

A British scientific institute is planning to set up a botanical garden in Kabul where future generations of green-fingered Afghanis will be able to appreciate native plants and learn horticultural skills.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), which dates back to 1670, is working with Kabul University''s agricultural faculty to establish the project on a four-hectare (ten-acre) site in the capital.

Experts from the RGBE have visited Kabul to advise on the garden, which they hope will one day play a small part in helping Afghanistan emerge from decades of turmoil.

"We see great potential in this," said Matthew Hall, a botanist at the Scotland-based RBGE.

"It will promote plant diversity, which underpins all ecosystems and is fundamental to any country.