Investigating the Strategies for Reducing Dust Storms Density in Sistan Region using SWOT Analysis

The Sistan region has long been known as one of the critical centers of wind erosion due to sand and dust storms. The high sensitivity of the soil to wind erosion, the existence of droughts and regional political disagreements has all limited the way to combat this phenomenon. But along with all the limitations, there are strengths and capabilities in the Sistan region that can be turned into opportunities to combat wind erosion. The identification of these factors was done by using field studies, MODIS and Landsat 7 (ETM+) satellite image processing and expert consultation. Then, using the SWOT analysis, the weight and rate of internal and external factors were evaluated. The results showed that native solutions for decreasing dust concentration in Sistan region can be done in three scenarios based on the strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats existing in the scenarios. Among the strengths and weaknesses, respectively, the presence of vegetation on the margin of Lake Saberi Hamoon and the lack of credibility and lack of native skills of communities with soil conservation methods have the highest score in assessing the internal factors. Also, the highest score is in assessing external factors, including renewable energies and regional political disagreements.