TEHRAN –The General Assembly has adopted a draft resolution called ‘United Nations Decade (2025-2034) on Combating Sand and Dust Storms (SDSs)’, the 11th resolution on addressing SDSs since 2016.

In September 2023, the 6th UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) approved a resolution adopted at the international summit on dealing with sand and dust storms which was held in Tehran.

The draft resolution was submitted to the United Nations General Assembly by the Group of 77, which includes 134 developing countries, IRNA reported.

 Iran, on behalf of the Group of 77, held negotiations about the resolution till they finally came to a conclusion.

On July 10, the assembly dedicated a 10-year period (from 2025 to 2034) to the fight against the sand and dust storms (SDSs) phenomena.

The Assembly invited the Secretary-General to take appropriate steps to plan and organize the activities of the Decade at the global, regional, and country levels. 

 It also stressed that the cost of all activities that may arise from the implementation of the resolution should be met from voluntary contributions, including from the private sector. 

The resolution has referred to dust and sand storms as serious global concerns that impose significant social, economic, health, and environmental consequences on the residents of affected countries.

They increasingly threaten the achievement of 11 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and the resolution therefore aims to enhance international and regional cooperation to prevent, halt, and mitigate their effects. 

The resolution aims to address SDSs and foster regional and international cooperation to mitigate the negative effects of SDSs, particularly in vulnerable countries.

In 2029, the resolution and its implementation will be reviewed and revised based on the Secretary General of the UN's present report.

UNEA-6

The UNEA-6 was held from February 26 to March 1 at the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the world’s highest decision-making body on the environment.

A total of 180 countries attended the UNEA-6 meeting with a focus on how multilateralism can help tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, IRNA reported.

The Tehran conference was a turning point in making serious decisions for implementing sub-regional programs in West Asia and Central Asia.

Climate change with all its dimensions and consequences has caused serious challenges to life on the earth. One of the consequences of climate change, which has increased in intensity and occurrence, is the phenomenon of SDSs with severe harm to the world's biological and economic resources.

According to surveys, 150 countries are affected by SDSs, and most of these countries are located in Africa and Asia.

Two out of the seven main sources of dust production in the world are located in Asia, with the Great African Sahara being the first one.

The studies by Iran show that the dust centers in West and Central Asia are more than 3.3 million square kilometers.

Considering the social, economic, health, and environmental effects and consequences of this phenomenon, it is necessary to adopt international, regional, and sub-regional solutions with the participation of all countries affected by this phenomenon and the international organizations’ support, to take more seriously actions to tackle this challenge.

MT/MG