Riyadh hosts the second edition of the International Dust Storms Conference

The Regional Center for Dust and Sandstorms announced the official launch of preparations for the second edition of the International Conference on Dust and Sandstorms , scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at the end of this year. This event comes at a time when the global need to unite efforts to address escalating environmental challenges is growing.

The conference is witnessing broad international participation, including leading environmental figures, representatives of UN organizations, climate experts, and academic researchers. This extensive participation aims to strengthen frameworks for international cooperation in addressing transboundary climate phenomena and to implement the outcomes of joint work achieved in previous international forums.

The importance of timing and environmental context

This edition of the conference is of particular strategic importance, as it comes at a time of escalating climate change worldwide, which has led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of dust storms in the Middle East and North Africa region. This phenomenon poses a significant environmental and economic challenge, negatively impacting public health, air and land transport sectors, and agriculture, thus necessitating radical and sustainable solutions that go beyond temporary fixes.

Organizing this conference is consistent with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the “Green Saudi Arabia” and “Green Middle East” initiatives, which aim to protect the environment, reduce carbon emissions and combat desertification, thus placing the Kingdom at the forefront of countries leading the environmental movement in the region.

Building on the gains of the “Riyadh Declaration”

In this context, the center's executive director, Jumaan Al-Qahtani, affirmed that preparations for the second edition are a continuation of the strategic gains achieved by the first. These efforts previously culminated in the issuance of the "Riyadh Declaration," which serves as an international reference document and a comprehensive roadmap for addressing dust and sandstorms, reflecting the Kingdom's serious commitment to finding practical solutions to this issue.

The conference, in its new iteration, aims to strengthen coordination among countries in the region to effectively address transboundary dust storms. Particular emphasis will be placed on supporting the efforts of countries that originate from these storms, through the exchange of expertise and modern technologies to mitigate their negative impacts at their source—a significant shift in environmental mitigation strategies.

Integrating efforts with COP16

The conference agenda aims to conduct in-depth scientific studies to uncover the precise causes of sandstorms, utilizing the latest climate monitoring and modeling technologies. This will contribute to accelerating the development and implementation of shared, sustainable regional solutions to mitigate the environmental and economic impacts of this phenomenon.

This strategic move builds upon the Kingdom's successive successes in the international environmental arena, coinciding with its hosting of the 16th Conference of the Parties to Combat Desertification and Drought (COP16). These events collectively form a platform for high-quality international partnerships aimed at strengthening climate resilience and ensuring a more sustainable environmental future for generations to come.