GUJRAT-Foreign experts and scholars joined forces with their Pakistani counterparts at an international workshop to find out solution to various sustainable development challenges of Pakistan here the other day.
Held at Hafiz Hayat campus of the University of Gujrat, the three-day workshop was titled “Sustainable Development Challenges and Solutions in Post 2015 Development - Sustainable Rural Landscape, Sustainability in Urban Areas”.
It was organised by the university’s Department of Geography. UoG Faculty of Sciences Dean Prof Dr Fahim Malik presided over opening session of the workshop. Renowned German expert Prof Dr Maik Netzband and Russian researcher Konstantin Zakharov were among the guest speakers in addition to Dr Fazul Rehman and Dr Attaur Rehman from Geography Department of University of Peshawar. While Dr Pushpam Kumar through a video link from Nairobi, Kenya, made a keynote speech at the workshop.
Addressing the workshop, Dr Kumar stressed the need to have complete awareness and understanding of all available resources in the country to achieve any target of economic prosperity, adding that natural resources are the real asset of any country. He said that sustainability development challenges can be achieved only by striking a perfect balance between our resources and needs, adding that a judicious use of natural resources can help South Asian countries achieve their sustainability development goals.
Dr Fahim Malik said that Pakistan can overcome the energy crisis by utilizing its natural resources.
Dr Maik Netzband discussed various environmental changes brought on by industrial growth and the role of geoscientists and geographers in putting a halt to further environmental degradation to prop up the quality of life.
Konstantin Zakharov presented a paper on the efforts made during the 20th century for the preservation of natural heritage in the city of Moscow. Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, through his extensive analytical research, shed ample light on the variability of rainfall trends in the region of Hindu Kush.
Dr Fazul Rehman, in his presentation on sustainability of mountain environment in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region of northern Pakistan, called for the need to understand the overall system properly in the context of man-environment interaction at local and regional level.
Mr Tanveer Ahmed proved that the agricultural activity is fast on the decline due to the rising trends of urbanization.
Earlier, highlighting the role of institutions for achieving sustainable development, Dr Mushahid Anwar expressed his hope that the international workshop at the UoG will be helpful in boosting students’ knowledge about the latest trends and techniques being employed to achieve the sustainability development goals.