FM: Foreign interference, war, terrorism marginalize environmental issues

Tehran, IRNA – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Sunday that foreign interference, terrorism, and waging insecurity and war in some of the regional countries have marginalized environmental issues.

Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a message to the first national conference on diplomacy and extra-territorial environmental challenges.

Human interventions in the environmental cycle and its destruction of water resources, energy, and territorial damages have caused real concerns for the development and management of societies, he added.

This situation has made the sustainable management of the environment face serious obstacles and land degradation, he added.

The wars and crises of the last few decades in West Asia have weakened or destroyed the existing infrastructure for cooperation in various fields, including the environment, he stated.

Destruction of water resources and wetlands, damage to biological resources, and land degradation have been in a way that decades of close regional cooperation are required to restore these huge resources.