Speaking to IRNA, deputy head of the Department of Environment Ahmad Lahijanzadeh said in the wake of signing MoU between Iran and the EU, both sides agreed to share EU experience and know-how with Iran to protect the environment and water resources.
He added that Khuzestan and Fars provinces have been selected for pilot study and experts started their studies on air pollution and disposal of industrial wastes in Khuzestan province and on water resources in Fars province.
He said that Khuzestan province is facing pollution from three different sides, first the pollution resulted by burning gases with oil, the second one is the air pollution due to traffic of motor-cars and the third one is related to dust which has both internal and external sources.
Lahijanzadeh said that Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Africa are the origins for the dust spreading in the air.
He noted that Shadgan wetland and Hoor al-Azim Lagoon are now in good conditions.
Earlier, Senior Coordinator at Asian and Pacific Center for the Development of Disaster Information Management (APDIM) Mostafa Mohaghegh said a quarter of all the annual two billion tons of dust and sand that is sent to the Earth’s atmosphere come from the Asia-Pacific region.
“Sand and dust storms are a major challenge for sustainable development, especially in dry and semi-dry regions in the world,” he added.
The official said the storms originate from 45 countries that directly affect 150 states.
“Each year, two billion tons of sand and dust are emitted to the Earth’s atmosphere, 27% of which originate from Asia-Pacific region,” he added. Mohaghegh warned that consequences from such phenomena pose challenges to sustainable development in healthcare, agriculture and infrastructure.
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