Iran raises people awareness on dust pollution: Former UN chief scientist

Jacqueline Myriam McGlade was director of the Division of Early Warning and Assessment of the United Nations Environment Program since 2013 until two weeks ago. She was Executive Director of the European Environment Agency from 2003-2013 and she is now Professor of Environmental Informatics at University College London.

In an exclusive interview with IRNA, Professor McGlade said that the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust storms held in Tehran from July 3 to 5 was endorsed by the UN Secretary General and by many others and it has been the first step to combat this phenomenon seriously.

The challenge of sand and dust storms is an old one and in the region where we are you have the largest source of sand in the world, she added.

McGlade noted: “75 percent of all sand and the storms comes from the Sahara Desert located in Africa, but what has happened more recently is that there has been very poor use of land; we have conflicts and many things which mean that by diversity, the trees, the wetlands all of the beautiful plants have been lost and therefore, we now have more local storms.”

“What we can do about it is to organize regional fora around the world to exchange ideas in this regard, in particular to think about how we can be more careful with water because water is really the key to solving sand and dust storms,” she added.

McGlade referred to dust storms in Iranian region of Ahvaz and said that to combat such terrible dust storms by having green growth, being careful with water and using the desert areas for other purposes.

Conflicts in the region take people’s minds away from looking after the environment and they destroy the environment, she added.

McGlade said that cooperation among regional states is extremely important and called for cooperation between all countries in the world, including China, Korea, Europe, Latin America and other states.

“Different countries have different experts, different experience and every sand and dust storm is not the same even in this region, so it is important that we understand that in some parts there is more salt, fray lines also note that there is possibility of pollution in the dust in some other regions,” she noted.

McGlade said that the entire world, including Mongolia, chile, Ecuador, the Latin America and even the USA are facing the problem.

The dust pollution has worsened because of climate change and as a result of climate change we have more desertification, she noted.

McGlade added that drying out more hot weather so that is leading to more local storms and dust being in the air.

“We have to work very hard to make sure that everybody stays on and completes their commitments to Paris Climate Agreement, so it will be great if different governments in the US continue remain committed to the international treaty,” she added.

McGlade underlined that Iran together with Afghanistan, Pakistan and many countries in this region have been very proactive and Iran particularly, but now we have to be sure that everybody takes their particular role.

She referred to Tehran conference on combating dust storm, and called for holding global fora to increase collaboration in the world.

McGlade said that the issues of dust storms should not become limited to one region and holding global fora within which we can have focal kind of projects at the regional level is essential.

Interview by Hamdollah Emadi Heydari

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