Held on 9-10 September 2023, the Conference was organized by the Iranian Department of Environment (DOE) based on resolution number A77571 of the United Nations General Assembly in 2022, with the support of the United Nations. The event brought together representatives from more than 50 countries, highlighting the urgency of tackling SDS on a global scale.

In his address on behalf of the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, Elwaer emphasized the transboundary nature of SDSs, which affects over 150 countries and poses substantial threats to human health, food security, transportation, energy, and the environment. He pointed out that the economic losses resulting from a single SDS event can reach hundreds of millions of dollars, further underlining the urgency of the matter.

Elwaer highlighted the role of climate change in exacerbating SDS hazards, with changes in temperature and precipitation levels leading to drought and degrading vegetation cover. These impacts disproportionately affect farmers and communities reliant on natural resources for their livelihoods, making it essential to develop sustainable practices and policies.

To address this critical issue, the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms was established in 2019, comprising 19 UN agencies and non-UN organizations. Currently chaired by FAO, the Coalition is mandated to promote knowledge exchange, dialogue, capacity building, and global action against SDS.

Moreover, he emphasized the importance of implementing the Coalition’s strategy and action plan to mobilize political will and resources and strengthen global cooperation. He stressed the need for international collaboration to mitigate the source and reduce the impact of SDS on people, societies, and economies.

In closing, Elwaer expressed hope that the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms to achieve great success and reiterated FAO’s commitment to fostering cooperation among Coalition members and countries. He called for continued efforts in sustainable land, soil, and water management to protect health, livelihoods, and food security.

As the international community comes together to address the challenges posed by sand and dust storms, the FAO and the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms stand ready to support countries in their efforts to combat SDS and reduce its impact on various sectors, he concluded.

Photo: AbdulHakim Elwaer, FAO Assistant Director-General, and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa.

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The visit aimed to implement the sub-regional action plan to deal with sand and dust storms, form a regional technical working group, and carry out joint projects to curb hotspots of sand and dust storm, IRNA reported.

Ali-Mohammad Tahmasbi, the secretary of the national policymaking headquarters for dealing with sand and dust storms, said bilateral and multilateral memorandums of understanding have been signed with Iraq, but unfortunately have not yet been implemented.

The SDS phenomenon has been plaguing the country for several years and has caused problems in many provinces.

According to studies, eight large sand and dust storm hotspots stretching to 270 million hectares in neighboring and Persian Gulf countries are affecting Iran.

Regional maps show that Saudi Arabia produces the highest level of particulate matter, followed by Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, and the UAE, respectively.

The Department of Environment will hold five international meetings in the current Iranian calendar year that started on March 21, DOE chief Ali Salajeqeh has said.

“At least five international meetings will be held this year, one of which is the conference on combating sand and dust storms,” he added, IRNA reported.

One of the approvals of the regional meeting of environment ministers, which was held in Iran last summer, was the establishment of a regional dust organization, he highlighted.

“Environmental diplomacy is the main priority for the country’s political diplomacy, so holding the conference on combating sand and dust storms is important for us.”

So far, 11 meetings of the national headquarters for policymaking and controlling dust storms have been held and the results of these meetings should be evaluated and made public, he stressed.

In the field of diplomacy, the Department of Environment has held meetings with neighboring countries to the extent that Egypt has also announced its readiness to attend the Tehran meeting, he highlighted.

He pointed out that a delegation from Iran will travel to Iraq in the near future to discuss the issue of sand and dust storms in order to make decisions to deal with the problem.

In July 2022, Tehran played host to a conference of ministers and officials from 11 countries, aiming to boost cooperation for resolving extant environmental problems, especially sand and dust storms.

Environment ministers of Iraq, Armenia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Syria, and Qatar, as well as deputy ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan along with delegations from Turkey and Uzbekistan, participated in the event which was held with the theme of “Environmental Cooperation for a Better Future.”

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It is therefore planned to implement a regional action plan for the Persian Gulf, especially for the countries with the highest dust emissions, Ali Mohammad Tahmasebi, head of the national working group for SDS mitigation, stated.

“There are numerous bilateral and multilateral agreements with neighboring countries, including Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, but no operational action has been taken, so the agreement alone is not enough and this issue should be resolved with the help of international institutions.

Two sub-action plans have been developed for West Asia, including Iraq, Syria, Iran, and the Persian Gulf, and for Central Asia, including its eastern, northern, and northeastern neighbors, including Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which should be implemented with the cooperation of the United Nations Economic and Social Organization for Asia and the Pacific (SCAP), the Asia-Pacific Center for Development of Disaster Information Management (APDIM), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), he explained.

Internal and external sources

The SDSs phenomenon has been plaguing the country for several years and has caused problems in many provinces. According to experts, natural and human factors are involved in the occurrence and severity of this phenomenon which is mainly caused by excessive consumption of water and drying up reservoirs.

Natural and human factors are involved in the occurrence and severity of this phenomenon which is mainly caused by excessive consumption of water and drying up reservoirs.

Over the past two years, the precipitation rate has been on a downward trend, as a result, sources of sand and dust storms (SDSs) have increased compared to a year before, Ahad Vazifeh, head of the national center for drought and crisis management said.

The internal dust sources are estimated at 34.6 million hectares, generating an average amount of 4.22 million tons of dust per year, about 1.460 million hectares are dried wetlands.

Some 4.23 million tons of dust are raised per year, which means the loss of soil fertility will hit the agricultural sector.

All the SDSs sources are not located in Iran, 300 million hectares in the neighboring countries are giving rise to SDSs, which transport dust into Iran. The total dust density is estimated at about 150 million tons.

In fact, the dust is raised from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in the northeast as well as Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan in the south, southwest, and west.

What are the consequences?

In 2021, APDIM published a report entitled “Sand and Dust Storms Risk Assessment in Asia and the Pacific” which found significant findings on the impact of dust storms on agriculture, energy, environment, aviation, human health, glacier melting, and cities.

The report reveals that sand and dust storms pose risks to both society and the environment and directly threaten the achievement of 11 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Mobilizing coordinated regional action is paramount to reducing risk and strengthening resilience to the negative transboundary impact of sand and dust storms.

Findings show that more than 6 million people in different cities in China, Iran, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan have been breathing unhealthy levels of air pollution caused by dust storms for at least 10 months in 2019.

In Central Asia, 80 percent of the total population is exposed to high levels of poor air quality caused by severe dust storms. In addition, large areas of agricultural land are affected by dust particles. In Turkmenistan, 71 percent, Pakistan 49 percent, and Uzbekistan 44 percent of agricultural lands are affected by dust particles.

Large amounts of SDSs, with high salt content, are toxic to plants and also reduce soil and water quality. Some crops are more sensitive to this phenomenon. For example, dust can dramatically reduce cotton production considerably.

SDSs also have a significant impact on the energy sector. The assessment shows that in only a small part of the energy sector (economic losses due to reduced efficiency of solar generators), dust storms incurred losses of more than $107 million in India, $46 million in China, and $37 million in Pakistan.

The report identifies areas that are expected to see an increase or decrease in dust storms over the next decade, based on forecasts of drought and water stress, as well as the current situation.

Iran forerunner in fighting SDSs

Iran is a leading country in the knowledge and analysis of dust storms and has conducted some of the most important research in this field. Therefore, it is recommended to rely on this ability and make more assessments of the economic and social impact in different sectors.

The country has a history of leadership in the international community in dealing with dust storms as cross-border disasters.

Addressing issues such as climate change and natural disasters, such as dust storms that occur in different regions and their influence extends beyond political boundaries, requires bilateral or multilateral negotiations between governments and through developed political frameworks or international organizations such as the United Nations.

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