Nairobi: The UAE Minister of Environment and Water, Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, termed dust and sandstorms as a “collective regional responsibility” and said all parties should come together to address this environmental challenge.
The UAE minister was speaking at the United Nations Environment Programme’s (Unep) flagship Sand and DustStorms project, a regional initiative targeting Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Syria, which was the top issue discussed during a ministerial meeting at Unep’s First Universal Session of the Governing Council, held in Nairobi, Kenya.
During the meeting, the UAE minister invited the parties to the project to agree on the steps that should be taken in the near future.
Participants debated the objectives of the project, which was established by Unep to reduce the impact of sand and duststorms in the region, which have escalated at a blistering pace, paralysing daily life and businesses and leading to significant health problems.
The project aims at enhancing joint efforts in the region to combat sand and duststorms by establishing a network of experts and scientists to define the mechanisms of implementation of the project and limit the human, social and economic impacts.
The meeting was attended by UN Undersecretary General and Unep Executive Director, Achim Steiner, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq, Martin Kobler, along with ministers and representatives from UAE, Iraq, Iran, Jordan and Turkey. Directors from Unep divisions and regional offices in West Asia, Europe, as well as Asia and Pacific also attended the meeting.
“This is a pioneer project and a great initiative for the region,” said Steiner.
“Unep is leading similar projects in other regions of the world and will provide the relevant technical support, including reliable scientific information and expertise,” he added.
Sand and duststorms are transcontinental phenomena that require regional cooperation to combat. They are the result of frequent droughts and land degradation associated with conflict, unsustainable agricultural practices and poor water resources management.
