Iran’s neighboring states, including Iraq and Turkey, should be held accountable for the intense dust and sand storms that frequently slam the country, a water resource management expert said.
“Iraq does not comply with agreements concluded with Iran to help fight the menace of sand storms, and Turkey insists on fulfilling its burning dam-building desire without respecting the water rights of neighbors,” Zahir Heidarinejad was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
As per the deal signed between Iraq and Iran, the former is obliged to take measures including tree plantation and mulching to stabilize soil, yet the Arab nation has almost done nothing in this regard, he added.
Furthermore, water policies and plans of regional countries, particularly Turkey, have compounded Iran’s struggle with dust and sandstorms, as Turkey's excessive dam construction has choked off water flow to Iraq and Syria, helping form dust and sand storm hotspots.
According to the expert, environmental problems in southern Khuzestan Province, notably the worsening sand and dust storms, are the ripple effects of Turkey's aggressive dam construction policies.
"They (Turkey) are building a large number of dams on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The move has curtailed the flow of water from Turkey into Syria and Iraq," he said.
The Tigris and Euphrates, with their tributaries, form a major river system in West Asia. From sources in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey, they flow through Syria and Iraq into the Persian Gulf.
Prominent experts and environmentalists have long warned that Turkey's extensive dam-building plans on the two rivers have reduced and will continue to shrink the flow of water into Syria and Iraq, the latter sharing borders with Iran. The situation has caused massive dust storms in Khuzestan, which originate from desiccated wetlands in Iraq.
Turkey is pursuing an ambitious regional development project, known as the Southeastern Anatolia Project, covering agriculture and irrigation, urban and rural infrastructure, forestry, education and health development plans. It also entails the construction of 22 dams and 19 power plants.
Online Petition
In 2017, an Iranian environmental group launched an online petition appealing to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to intervene and pressure the Ankara government to abandon its reckless dam construction.
In the petition, the group called on the UN chief to help end Turkey's "destructive" love for damming.
They said the construction of gigantic structures since the 1970s have led to the drying up of rivers and wetlands in Iraq and Syria, and exacerbated the region's seemingly unending fight against dust and sand storms.
Giant clouds of sand and dust particles swept across Iran and air pollution in the capital of Tehran soared to dangerous levels last week.
“Due to storms of dust and sand entering Tehran and western and northwestern cities, the elderly, those with heart disease and children should exercise caution,” Abbas Shahsavani, the head of the Health Ministry’s Air Quality and Climate Change Committee, said.
High-speed winds carried pollutants from the western neighboring country Iraq into Iran, cutting visibility in some areas and raising the Air Quality Index to over 480, on a scale of 500, in Tehran, hazardous to the entire population regardless of age group.
Crippling dust storms have become more frequent over the past few years, imposing a heavy toll on the national healthcare system.
Experts are of the opinion that most of the sources of dust storms, which have become more intense recently, are located in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria.
Domestic sources are said to contribute to only 20% of sand storms in the country.
Mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of an area of soil. The most common type in Iran is petroleum-based mulch whose ecological impact is still a matter of debate.
