UN declares 2025 to 2034 the decade to combat sand and dust storms
Somali refugee children cover themselves as a dust storm moves across the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya, July 13, 2023
THE United Nations general assembly has declared that 2025 to 2034 will be the world body’s Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms.
Such storms are increasing in number and size, threatening health and economies from central Africa to northern China.
Ugandan UN ambassador Godfrey Kwoba, who introduced the resolution on behalf of the Group of 77, comprising 134 developing countries and China, told the 193-member assembly on Wednesday that the initiative aims to “halt and mitigate the negative effects of sand and dust storms” through “international and regional co-operation.”
Similar stories
Addressing new climate challenges will require co-ordinated efforts by governments and local authorities for both drought and flood risks — and it’s people power that will be key to getting policy implemented, writes DOUG SPECHT
Governments must dramatically slash emissions and support the transition to a renewable future in 2025, UN says
Chinese socialist planning and action over decades have created the world’s greatest reforestation programme, writes CARLOS MARTINEZ, and now its lessons in fighting desertification and climate change are taking root worldwide