TEHRAN – Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, Amir-Saeed Iravani, chaired a high-level event held to mark the International Day for Combating Sand and Dust Storms (SDSs) in New York on July 10.
The event was organized by the Permanent Missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, the Republic of Senegal and Mongolia, in cooperation with members of the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, providing a platform to exchange experiences, strengthen partnerships and identify actions to advance implementation at the national, regional and global levels.
At Iran’s initiative, in 2023, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed July 12 as the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms, recognizing that SDSs and their negative impacts at different scales are issues of international concern.
This year, the day was marked under the theme: ‘From Source to Impact: Protecting Land and Life from Sand and Dust Storms’. The event brought together Member States, United Nations entities, regional and international organizations, experts and other stakeholders to strengthen international cooperation and accelerate action to address the growing impacts of sand and dust storms.
As highlighted by the four host countries, dust storms, beyond degrading land and the environment, have severely impacted human health, food and water security, agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, economic activities, biodiversity, and the achievement of sustainable development goals.
Addressing the event, Iravani highlighted that dust storms have become a global challenge affecting development, health, food security, transportation, the economy, climate change, and the environment, which requires a comprehensive, preventive approach based on broad international cooperation to be dealt with, IRNA reported.
Besides climate change, drought, desertification, land degradation, and the unsustainable use of natural resources, conflicts and wars, particularly in the West Asia, have resulted into land degradation, deterioration of natural resource management, and emergence or expansion of dust and sandstorm hotspots, he noted.
Highlighting the impact of unilateral coercive measures and sanctions on the capacity of developing countries to protect their environments, Iravani stressed the need to eliminate barriers to environmental cooperation and ensure equitable access for affected countries to necessary resources, technology, and knowledge.
The official welcomed the regional programs of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific as well as the inter-regional cooperation between the Commission and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
He described the United Nations Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms (2025–2035) a significant opportunity to convert political commitments into practical, results-oriented actions.
During the interactive dialogue session, representatives of UN member states called for strengthening scientific, technical, and financial collaborations, developing early warning systems, ensuring sustainable land management, combating desertification, and enhancing the resilience of vulnerable communities.
The participants noted that SDSs know no political border, and that no individual country can tackle the challenge on its own. Accordingly, enhancing the role of the UN, fostering cooperation among source countries where dust originates, transit countries, and destination countries that receive dusts, as well as effectively supporting developing countries are essential to achieve sustainable responses.
The four countries, Iran, Iraq, Senegal, and Mongolia, issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to promoting regional and international cooperation to combat dust storms. They called for governments, the UN, financial institutions, regional organizations, scientific centers, private sectors, and other stakeholders to enhance their cooperation in areas like prevention, monitoring, early warning, land restoration, knowledge and technology transfer, capacity building, and securing financial resources.
Comprehensive plan for combating SDSs
Dust storms are significant environmental challenges that adversely affect food security, human health, and the sustainable development process at national and regional levels.
Being located in an arid and semi-arid area, Iran has been negatively impacted by climate change. The rise in temperatures, drop in precipitation, intensified droughts, and frequent SDSs have not only threatened the ecosystem and biodiversity but also jeopardized the country’s food security by exacerbating soil erosion, expanding desertification, and declining agricultural productivity.
In August 2025, the national specialized working group on sand and dust storms (SDSs), in cooperation with other governmental bodies, approved a comprehensive plan to address SDSs, which will be used as a national reference document to enhance the country’s resilience against one of the most acute environmental threats.
At the 29th meeting of the national specialized working group on SDSs management, the 150-page comprehensive plan was developed with cross-sectoral collaboration of 15 executive agencies and government bodies, including the DOE, the ministries of agriculture, health, energy, and transport, as well as the Natural Resources Organization, Crisis Management Organization, and Meteorological Organization, IRNA reported.
The plan involves ten key strategies, hundreds of specific actions, performance indicators, an implementation timeline, and institutional labor division among responsible agencies.
In July 2025, President Masoud Pezeshkian issued an order calling for the establishment of a specialized working group to address SDSs, which have turned into a significant public health concern in the country.
In this line, the DOE presented a report on the hazards of SDSs as a comprehensive and growing threat, and enumerated the national plans and strategies to mitigate the impacts of SDSs, IRNA reported.
Highlighting the significance of preserving the environment, as a critical issue of the country, the president ordered the establishment of a working group, consisting of experts, academics, representatives of ministries and executive agencies, to prepare and implement operational plans to combat the dust phenomenon, drawing on successful international experiences.
Dust storms are major environmental challenges that adversely impact food security, human health, and the sustainable development process at national and regional levels.
MT/MG
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