Secretary of water, drought, erosion and environment technologies development headquarter expressed: the problem of dunes will be solved with the finalization and implementation of technology models in Sistan and Baluchestan region.

According to the public relations and information center of the Vice-Presidency for science and technology affairs, Nader Gholi Ebrahimi, secretary of water, drought, erosion and environment technologies development headquarter, stated on the International Conference on Dust in Southwest Asia held in Zabol University: in the current situation, human manipulations in various fields and disorganization of watersheds have affected our work in addition to climate change.

Pointing out the necessity of minimizing human manipulations of the climate, he added: we must focus on the natural condition in a way that the atmospheric precipitation could be optimally utilized. In this respect, the Vice-Presidency and the water, drought, erosion and environment technologies development headquarter have mainly emphasized technological discussions, through which we might be able to provide a sustainable condition for financial support of the people.

In response to the question of: “Why Hamun Lake, which is the 7^th international freshwater wetland of the world, has been dried for a long time and no improvement has been observed in this area, whereas many other wetlands have received proper attention?”, Ebrahimi stated: this issue can be divided into two sections: the first issue is transboundary wetlands, that must be followed up by the relevant organizations, and the second issue is related to us, which is the maintenance of wetlands and the natural ecosystem of the region.

He continued: in fact, water right supply must be followed up to supply the water right of 850 million m⁴. On the other hand, scientific methods provide maximum sustainability in Hamun Wetland. In addition, technological programs have been implemented in Khuzestan and Urmia, which will definitely work in this area as well. I have suggested that the model used in Urmia and Khuzestan be applied in Sistan as well.

Ebrahimi added: three scenarios can be described for Sistan region and this wetland; either the Afghans will not give us water or will be forced to give us water due to water overflow or none of these scenarios will occur. Therefore, the country must design its programs based on these scenarios. We must face the reality properly; what should we do if there is no water, what will happen if there is water flow, and what should be carried out in case of following our water right.

During the meeting, Bohlouli, head of University of Zabol, regarded dunes as the major challenge of Sistan, and considered the main cause of holding this conference by University of Zabol the necessity of achieving a scientific approach to find a solution for reducing crisis in this region.

During this travel, the secretary of water, drought, erosion and environment technologies development headquarter and his delegation visited the basin of water entering the border zone with Afghanistan, Zahak dam, Helmand river, Joint Parian, Sahand well and Sistan river, and research farm and Chah Nime Research Center of Zabol University.

In addition, they visited villages affected by flood and the operation of construction a construct to deal with flood in Niatak village in the presence of the representative of people of Sistan and learned about the measures taken to control flood in this region.

In the end, in addition to visiting the latest condition of deep water project along with the counseling and contract team, they evaluated the results and measures taken in this regard, determining the next tasks.

International Conference on Dust in Southwest Asia was held in University of Zabol, attended by Nicholas Middleton, consultant of United Nations on sand and dust storms, and experts from China and other Asian countries and active authorities of the field.