“We cannot overcome the environmental crisis, unless we foster cooperation among neighboring nations as well as other countries,” President Rouhani said, addressing the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) that kicked off in the Iranian capital on Monday.
“We are like a family in the region,” said President Rouhani, stressing that the regional countries should not distance themselves from each other.
Referring to the present circumstances in the region, President Rouhani called for an end to the regional conflicts.
“We should end flames of wars in the region,” he said, adding that the flames of war will lead to dire consequences affecting both the global politics as well as the nature.
He went on to reject the idea that countries could guarantee their interests by acting against the interests of other countries.
“We should stand by each other, and preserve our nations’ rights through respecting the others’ rights,” Rouhani said stressing the importance of not making threats against each other and jeopardizing interests, referring to Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Touching on the issue of SDS, the President said the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran sees it necessary to take due measures to continue fighting the dust problem.
To address the dust issue, Iran has embarked on various measures with the cooperation from two neighboring courtiers of Iraq and Afghanistan, Rouhani added.
Iran has also started negotiating with Turkmenistan and it has called on all countries to rely on dialogue to agree on deals and joint plans that would benefit the entire region.
To address the issue, President Rouhani said, all countries should establish broad cooperation among themselves and the United Nations should also take a proportionate share.
He described dealing with the environmental issue as one of the priorities of the government.
The President further noted that 20 percent of particle pollution in Iran tends to have internal sources, while the remaining 80 percent are caused by external sources.
Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan are among the countries which cause particle pollution in Iran, Rouhani said.
Twenty-two dam construction projects underway in our neighboring country could cause destructive effects on Tigris and Euphrates, two main regional rivers, he said.
“We cannot be indifferent toward what damages our environment,” the President stressed.
President Rouhani said that if the dam-construction activities are not stopped and the SDS phenomenon not addressed, the agriculture, urban development and the people’s livelihoods is going to be threatened.
“This is a human, international and regional responsibility,” the Iranian President said.
Also, Head of the Iranian Department of Environment (DoE) Masoumeh Ebtekar said that Iran is able to introduce successful plans, such as reforestation and lake revival, whose example is the Lake Urmia, to counter particles pollution.
Talking in the opening ceremony of the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms (SDS), Ebtekar said, “Iran has taken successful steps in counteracting dust and can share its expertise with other countries.”
She added Iran has been economically and socially hurt by dust pollution and has tried hard in the UN to pass four resolutions concerning the problem.
She also said that holding the conference and so many ministers’ gathering together aim at finding a solution for the problem.
Referring to the fact that wars deteriorate the situation, she said, “The dust centers in foreign countries that are effective on Iran are becoming more, thus we have started our regional collaborations with Iraq and hope they will work.”
The International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) which is being hosted by the United Nations (UN) and Iranian Department of Environment is to review challenges and practical solutions to the issue.
Iran is among the countries which have been badly hurt by the SDS phenomenon.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif, Head of Department of Environment Massoumeh Ebtekar, Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian, a number of Iranian MPs, UN Assistant Secretary General Haoliang Xu and the executive secretary Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME) Abdul Rahman Al-Awadi have taken part in the Tehran international conference to be held at the level of ministers and experts for three days.
34 countries, including Italy, France, China, Belgium, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan, Chad, India, Armenia, Jordon, Serbia, and the US, are attending the conference.
This post was originally published by IRNA. Click here and here to read.