Environmental diplomacy needs to be strengthened

TEHRAN –Being transboundary, many complicated environmental challenges can be addressed through environmental diplomacy, which means negotiations among two or more countries.

Environmental diplomacy is used globally to settle problems such as conflicts over sources of energy, water, and climate change, IRNA reported.

The fact that all the countries share the same environment necessitates fostering environmental diplomacy to settle disputes over water resources, environmental pollution, and climate change impacts.

Environmental diplomacy is an effective and required tool to mitigate and eliminate the severe consequences by fair distribution of responsibilities among involved countries as they present their national interests and solutions.

Sand and dust storms (DSDs) are a typical example of metrological hazards in West Asia, where many countries are involved as some generate them and some others are affected by them.

SDSs hit countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and sometimes parts of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and even Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

These dust particles have devastating impacts on respiratory health and ecosystems; they result in the closure of airports, schools, and offices, affect electricity transmission infrastructures, and bring about economic losses.

Removing pollution from Aras River, and securing Hirmand River water right, as well as some wetlands are other examples where environmental policies have been used to resolve the conflicts.

Tehran convention is a big achievement whereby the Caspian Sea littoral states protect the Caspian environment from all sources of pollution but also targets the preservation, restoration, and protection of the Caspian Sea species and habitats.

Therefore, to mitigate climate change impacts, and achieve sustainable development goals, environmental policy is required to be strengthened to help Iran as well as its neighboring countries benefit from available resources and secure our rights at the international level.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with other executive bodies such as the ministries of Energy, Industry, Mine, Trade, and Agriculture as well as the Department of Environment can establish a center to focus on specific missions and follow up on discussions and goals in line with national interests and improve the living conditions of citizens through environmental diplomacy. 

Iran prioritizes environmental policy

According to the former head of the Department of Environment (DOE), Ali Salajeqeh, environmental diplomacy is the main priority for the country’s political diplomacy.

One of the measures taken by the Iranian government toward the development of environmental diplomacy was the holding of a regional summit on combating sand and dust storms in 2022.

The meeting was attended by ministers and representatives of regional countries and six international agencies, and its final statement was approved as the Tehran Declaration.

Considering the increase in the occurrence of sand and dust storms in the region and the environmental statement on bolstering environmental diplomacy, the current administration aims to endorse regional and global interactions to tackle not only SDSs but also water diplomacy and transboundary waters as other critical issues.

Exchanging regional and global experiences in the field of environment, laying the ground for facilitating interactions and benefiting from global experiences and modern knowledge, and participating at various levels of environment-related negotiations in order to attract resources, enhance capabilities and secure national interests are parts of environmental policies of the current administration.

MT/MG