Srinagar, June 07: At least 389 delegates from different parts of the country presented their papers during a national conference on global environmental challenges which concluded at the University of Kashmir on Wednesday here.
324 delegates joined the conference in offline mode, whereas 65 delegates presented their research work in the online mode during the mega event, organised by the Department of Environmental Science, KU, in collaboration with the Zoological Society of India. The delegates had converged from at least 23 universities and other institutions in the country.
Spanning 25 themes of critical importance, the conference deliberations were marked by insightful exchange of ideas, sharing of knowledge, academic debates and group discussions with a view to finding long-term solutions for sustainability.
Of a total 16 technical sessions, eight were reserved for oral offline presentations, four for oral online presentations and four for offline poster presentations. Two more sessions were reserved for the competition for young scientist and senior scientist awards by the ZSI.
Vice-Chancellor, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora, Prof Shakil A Romshoo chaired the valedictory session on Wednesday, while Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir, Prof A Ravinder Nath, was the guest of honour. Other guests who shared the dais included Prof Irshad A Nawchoo, Dean Research, KU; Prof B N Pandey, President ZSI; Dr Ashok K Saxena, Former General President ISCA; Dr B K Das, Director CIFRI; Prof B D Joshi, President IAES, Prof Ghulam Jeelani, Dean School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU.
Prof Romshoo talked about climate change, global warming, retreating glaciers, floods, calamities, and uneven weather changes and highlighted the need to create a sustainable environment for future generations.
Prof A Ravinder Nath emphasised the need to save the fragile ecosystem of J&K which has the potential to be one of the best tourist destinations in the country.
Prof Nawchoo shared his experiences to highlight the declining population of plants and animals “because of excessive human interference” and called for “conserving the native ecosystems”.
Prof Fayaz Ahmad, Head, Department of Environmental Science, presented the welcome address as convener of the conference, while Dr Yahya Bakhtiyar conducted the proceedings of the valedictory session and presented a report of the three-day deliberations. Dr Mohammad Muslim presented the vote of thanks.
