INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN-- A global conference on combating sand and dust storms will be held in Iran, Department of Environment chief Ali Salajeqeh has
said.Based on the successful experiences of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of combating sand and dust storms, the United Nations
presented Iran as the host of the international conference, he added, IRIB reported.Arrangements have actually been made with the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and in July next year, this meeting will be kept in Tehran with the existence of the environment ministers of the world
nations, Salajeqeh stated
In the field of diplomacy, the Department of Environment has convened with neighboring nations to the degree that Egypt has actually also
revealed its readiness to go to the Tehran conference, he highlighted.He pointed out that a delegation from Iran will take a trip to Iraq in
the future to discuss the concern of sand and dust storms in order to make decisions to handle the problem.In July 2022, Tehran played host
to a conference of ministers and authorities from 11 countries, intending to enhance cooperation for dealing with extant ecological issues,
particularly sand and dust storms.Environment ministers of Iraq, Armenia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Syria, and Qatar, in addition to
deputy ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan along with delegations from Turkey and Uzbekistan, participated in the occasion which was
held with the style of Environmental Cooperation for a Better Future
Resolving the opening event, President Ebrahim Raisi stressed that the conservation of the environment is essential and an inevitable
priority.Raisi had previously obliged the department of environment to diligently pursue the option of sand and dust storms through
diplomacy and worldwide forums, in addition to interaction with neighboring countries
Conservation of the community and environment, which is a worldwide concern, specifically for nations of the area, is an inescapable
If the environment is not safe and serene for individuals, the advancement will not remain in its proper place and it will even become a
threat to human health, Raisi stated.The SDS phenomenon has actually been pestering the nation for numerous years and has caused issues in
According to studies, eight large sand and dust storm hotspots stretching to 270 million hectares in surrounding and Persian Gulf countries
are impacting Iran.Regional maps show that Saudi Arabia produces the greatest level of particulate matter, followed by Iraq, Syria, Kuwait,
and the UAE, respectively.According to experts, natural and human factors are associated with the incident and severity of this phenomenon
which is generally brought on by extreme consumption of water and drying up reservoirs.To handle sand and dust storms, positive steps have
been taken inside the country.A ten-year plan has actually been prepared to suppress internal sources of sand and dust storms.The internal
dust sources are estimated at 34.6 million hectares, creating a typical quantity of 4.22 million lots of dust annually, about 1.460 million
hectares are dried wetlands.In recent years, about EUR370 million has actually been spent by the National Development Fund to fight SDSs,
which had great outcomes, however it seems that the annual credit is decreasing as conditions improve.Letizia Rossano, the director of the
Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management (APDIM), stated in June 2022 that Iran is really at
forefront of understanding the issue of sand and dust storms along with dealing with it.More than 80 percent of the entire populations of
Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and the Islamic Republic of Iran are exposed to medium and high levels of bad air quality
due to sand and dust storms, she noted.MG
