Iran, Iraq, and Syria to start action plan on dealing with sand and dust storms
The Iranian Department of Environment (DOE) will kick off negotiations with Iraq and Syria to launch an action plan for fighting sand and dust storms (SDS) in the region.
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The SDSs phenomenon has been plaguing the country for several years and has caused problems in many provinces. According to experts, natural and human factors are involved in the occurrence and severity of this phenomenon which is mainly caused by excessive consumption of water and drying up reservoirs.
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Some 4.23 million tons of dust are raised per year, which means the loss of soil fertility will hit the agricultural sector.
Moreover, 300 million hectares in the neighboring countries are giving rise to SDSs, which transport dust into Iran. The total dust density is estimated at about 150 million tons.
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In the past four years, about €370 million has been spent by the National Development Fund to combat SDSs, which had good results, but it seems that the annual credit is declining as conditions improve, Tahmasebi said.
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