UNITED NATIONS, July 16 (Xinhua) -- UN General Assembly President Miroslav Lajcak said Monday that sand and dust storms' detrimental effects are hindering progress towards a milestone agenda of the UN and urges actions to combat them.
In his opening remarks to a dialogue on sand and dust storms, Lajcak said such storms present a risk to people's health and livelihoods, make economies suffer, and affect the environment. "All of these factors, in turn, hinder our progress towards the 2030 Agenda."
Currently, progress towards the 2030 Agenda is being reviewed at an ongoing high-level political forum held at the UN headquarters. The UN adopted the agenda comprising 17 Sustainable Development Goals in September 2015 with a view to eradicate poverty, end hunger and enhance health, among other visions.
"One sand or dust storm can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The losses are really felt in the agriculture, transportation and infrastructure sectors. These are resources that could have been channeled towards sustainable development at a time when we need to mobilize more for the 2030 Agenda," Lajcak said.
Therefore, the UNGA president called for holistic, coordinated and urgent actions to combat sand and dust storms among member states, stressing "today, we have the opportunity to fill our knowledge gaps, to share solutions with one another, and to see the linkages between global agendas and national policies."
Monday's dialogue is a continuation of the discussions during the International Conference on Combatting Sand and Dust Storms held in Tehran last July.
Its panellists included Iran's Director General for International Environmental and Sustainable Development, as well as officials from the UN Environment Programme, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the World Meteorological Organization.
