ISLAMABAD : In connection with the International Biodiversity Day, a seminar ‘Our Biodiversity, Our Food and Our Health’ followed by student poster competition was held at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
The event was organised by Faculty of Biological Sciences, QAU, in collaboration with Ministry of Climate Change.
While addressing the ceremony, Dr Ali, vice chancellor Quaid-i-Azam University, urged the students to understand impotence of biodiversity and handover clean and green planet to the future generations.
He stressed the need for comprehensive collaboration among policy makers, development sector and academia to save the environment and minimize the bio-degradation.
Dr Mushtaq, faculty member, Department of Plant Sciences, shared a detailed presentation with the audience regarding the threats posed by bio-degradation and recommendations to tackle the current challenge.
He said that Pakistan had unique phytogeography, floral and cultural diversity. He said that in south, the country was bound by Arabian Sea and in north by some of the highest peaks of the world, K2, Sharing Himalayas with China.
He said that this plant diversity has the potential to cater our food, medicine and energy needs as with abundant availability of wild fruits, vegetables, herbal drugs for disease management and Bio-fuels for energy security.
He also shared a number of research projects of the department in the area of plant diversity, herbal pharmaceutics, biodiversity conservation, herbarium digitization, bio-fuels and cleaner environment.
Dean faculty of Biological Sciences Dr Shahab and representative from the Ministry of Climate Change also addressed the faculty and students.
Later, certificates and shields were also distributed among the winners of the poster competition by the vice chancellor.