(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency) The workshop was attended by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment, Mohammed Al Khashashneh, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Local Administration, Hussain Mhaidat, the Director of the WHO Regional Centre for Environmental Health Action, Ahmed Basel Al-Yousfi, and representatives from the Ministry of Public Works and Health and the Greater Amman Municipality.
Among the aims of the workshop were the exchange expertise in the field of air pollution and the promotion of national dialogue on ambient and indoor air quality in buildings and its impact on public health.
The workshop, which was held at the Fairmont Hotel in Amman and attended by a wide range of stakeholders in the field of air quality, public health, and urban planning in Jordan, discussed the role of urban design and planning and its impact on improving the quality of ambient and indoor air.
In her opening remarks, Andrea Torres, the Program Director of Bernard Van Leer Foundation, stressed on the linkages between indoor air quality and the health of babies, toddlers and caregivers.
Najat Aoun Saliba from the American University of Beirut presented some of the results of the research she had prepared on indoor and ambient air quality, calling for collective action to prevent smoking in all its forms and improve ventilation inside buildings.
Najat also called for raising awareness of the issue of ambient air quality in roads and neighborhoods, providing information related to air quality more broadly, and strengthening local and global cooperation in this regard.
The participants, who were organized into working groups, exchanged expertise and ideas and worked together to analyze the roles and responsibilities on the quality and control of ambient and indoor air and its impact on public health and the role of urban planning in improving air quality in cities.
At the conclusion of the workshop, the participants recommended the necessity of adopting policies and legislation related to indoor air quality. They stressed the need for cooperation between all stakeholders in air quality. It was suggested that the Ministry of Environment should enact relevant legislation, and the Ministry of Health should limit the negative impact of air quality on public health, while the Ministry of Works could amend building codes to include appropriate natural ventilation that prevents the concentration of household pollutants. In addition, the Greater Amman Municipality could help by introducing transport policies and procedures to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles, and by monitoring air quality in cities and public parks.
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