Steps to stop land erosion stressed

Experts gather at Pakistan Academy of Sciences to participate in the three-day international planning workshop.


December 07, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Geological and agriculture experts on Monday started deliberations to devise a comprehensive plan for sustainable water infrastructure development and soil erosion control in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region of the country.

The experts gathered at the Pakistan Academy of Sciences to participate in the three-day international planning workshop on `Watershed Management and Land Rehabilitation” organised by the National Centre for Excellence in Geology (NCEG), University of Peshawar in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Higher Education Commission.

At the inaugural session, experts stressed on the need for a systematic approach for sustaining the water infrastructure and saving cultivable land from erosion in the region.

Besides local scholars, experts from different countries, including the United States, Canada, Egypt, the Netherlands and Nepal are participating in the workshop.

Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Muhammad Gondal said that agriculture was the backbone of the country’s economy, contributing about 24 per cent to the national GDP.

Highlighting the troubles of the people of the Frontier, he said that about 10 million people depended on agriculture and stressed on the need for developing a comprehensive strategy to utilise the resources of this region to benefit the people.

The federal minister announced the establishment of the Centre for Arid Area Research at Peshawar University which he said would be working under NCEG for land development.

Director NCEG, Dr M. Asif Khan stressed the need for controlling land erosion, which he said, could be done by developing sustainable water management infrastructure.

He underlined the importance of holistic and process-oriented approach for water management adding that besides long-term strategies for developing water reservoirs and other infrastructure, short-term and medium-term strategies were needed.

The NCEG has started working for developing a comprehensive plan for watershed management and land rehabilitation. The International Convenor of the Workshop, Dr David Dichter said that the aim of the workshop was to develop a consensus to adopt action plan for future to utilise the resource of the region for the welfare of its inhabitants. He hoped that the workshop would be successful in formulating a plan for the development of water and land resources.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2010.

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