Dubai – UAE – On 3 December, Central Asian and global experts on sand and dust storms and soil science discussed the challenges of responding to the consequences of dust and sand storms at the UNFCCC COP28 Central Asia Pavilion.
The side event "Dust Storms in Central Asia: Source Mapping and Mitigation" focused on efforts integration to mitigate the serious problems caused by dust and sand storms.
The effects of dust storms are mostly devastating, adversely affecting air and water quality, public health, the transport sector, agriculture and ecosystems.
There are no boundaries for sand and dust storms. Central Asia faces unique challenges caused by the tragedy of the Aral Sea, which has led to the formation of vast areas of degraded land and dust storms with an annual volume of 100 million tons. Land reclamation is underway in the region; the area of forest plantations is 1.7 million hectares. However, more efforts are needed to prevent further degradation, monitor lands and rehabilitate degraded land.
Videorecording is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpeA1B46hdM
More about COP28 CA Pavilion is at https://www.carececo.org/en/main/activity/mettings/cop28/