Diplomatic initiatives are required to address environmental problems and further development does not justify any harm to the environment, the parliament speaker said, addressing a conference on environment on Sunday.
Ali Larijani said environment is an "important national and international issue" and "nature does not belong to humans only," IRNA reported.
Lamenting the negative impact of human activities on the environment leading to major climatic changes, he said approaches to nature must be modified and it must be regarded as a "manifestation of God's glory."
The environmental destruction is an international challenge posed by some countries due to their failure to consider the true workings of the nature, the lawmaker said, adding the drought in Iraq, which is one of the main culprits behind dust storms, has resulted from some countries' mishandling of their water supplies.
Referring to the current drought and the plummeting underground water level, especially in the central provinces of the country, the speaker said conservation of water resources, pressurized irrigation, transfer of water, and supplying virtual water can be considered as some solutions to effectively address the drought. He underlined the significant role of the media and educational system in raising the public's awareness of environmental issues and called on the experts in the field to make the results of their research available to the relevant authorities.
