TEHRAN (Iran News) – Ali Salajeqeh, head of the Department of Environment, has suggested establishing a joint fund with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO).

The main objective is to support the development of environmental education with the aim of empowering local communities, and developing university courses in the Islamic world, IRIB quoted Salajeqeh as saying.

He made the remarks at the 9th meeting of environment ministers of the Islamic world that was held on October 18 and 19 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

He stressed the universality of environmental issues and the necessity of global cooperation and participation on regional and international scales to solve environmental issues.

The official also proposed granting scholarships to promote environmental education for sustainable development and training experts and boosting ICESCO’s cooperation with the International Labor Organization to train the required skills for green jobs.

Establishing appropriate communication centers and links between countries with relevant international centers and authorities of the Islamic world in the field of education, research, and environment; and strengthening regional capacities to facilitate technical and scientific cooperation with an emphasis on science and new technologies in protecting biodiversity and combating climate change was also proposed.

Salajeqeh also proposed exchanging experiences in the field of risk assessment methods and estimation of environmental damages caused by natural or man-made environmental disasters, and exchanging experiences in the field of economic assessment methods for climate change adaptation and using the capacity of knowledge-based companies in the Islamic world.

In the end, Salajeqeh added, Iranian knowledge-based companies have high capacities to solve environmental problems, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to expand cooperation with other countries and transfer knowledge and technology to improve the environment.

Iran’s global environmental diplomacy

At the “Fifth Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific” which was held from October 3-6 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Salajeqeh said global environmental diplomacy is one of the government’s main programs.

“Environment precedes development” and “Global environmental diplomacy” are the government’s slogans, Salajeqeh said, IRIB reported.

He enumerated the national action plans for the preservation of biodiversity saying that Iran is home to many valuable genetic reserves in the world and has a rich biodiversity of important plant and animal species with over 2,200 endemic plant species and unique habitats, including the Zagros and Hyrcanian forests.

“Iran has made great strides in improving the marine ecosystem and biodiversity by developing an action plan for continuous monitoring of marine ecosystems, protecting and restoring vulnerable coastal habitats, adapting to the phenomenon of climate change in land and coastal areas, and dealing with plastic and micro-plastic pollution, IRIB quoted Salajeqeh as saying.

Talking about the impact of climate change on human life and the need to adapt to it, Salajeqeh said one of the consequences of climate change and extreme phenomena is the occurrence of floods, droughts, and sand and dust storms, the scope and intensity of which is expanding and is plaguing the countries of West Asia.

He also pointed to climate change as a serious menace to sustainable development in various aspects of the environment such as human health, food security, economic activities, natural resources, and infrastructure due to its impacts on agriculture, the environment, and public health.