TEHRAN — In a global effort toward mitigating effects of sand and dust storms Tehran will host the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms on July 3-5.

International participants will include ministers, senior officials and experts, international resource persons and policy makers from all regions as well as experts from regional and international organizations and UN entities.

To date, representatives from 31 countries comprising France, Germany, China, Italy, Mexico, Serbia, Slovakia, South Korea, Belgium, the U.S., Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Azerbaijan have announced readiness to attend the conference.  

There has been a growing awareness of the global phenomenon of sand and dust storms and their global, regional, transboundary and multi-faceted impacts on the environment, climate, health, livelihoods, agriculture and socio-economic well-being of societies in the past decades.

The United Nations Environment Program, the United Nations Development Program and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, as well as other relevant United Nations entities, such as WMO, UNCCD, the RAMSAR Convention, UNOOSA, WHO and FAO will collaborate in hosting the conference, according to the UN official website.

Raising awareness, sharing knowledge and best practices and enhancing advocacy–to deliver an overview of the key challenges facing the affected region and countries emanating from the sand and dust storms phenomenon, identifying practical and integrated solutions and recommending a set of concrete actions and tools to mitigate sand and dust storms and build resilience to achieve SDGs, and promoting regional and international partnerships in order to enhance increased international and regional collaboration to combat the sad and dust storms phenomenon are of the objectives of the three-day event. 

The themes to be addressed at the International Conference will include the following:
1. Overview of global and regional trends of sand and dust storms combined with a Ministerial dialogue;
2. Social, economic and environmental impact of sand and dust storms and their costs;
3. Observation, monitoring, prediction and early warning systems;
4. Policy options, technology innovation and investment opportunities, considering cross-sectoral integrated approaches;
5. Global, regional and cross-sectoral cooperation; and
6. Conclusion and way forward.

MQ/MG