Winds of change: ‘Climate change leading to environmental disasters’

Students urged to come up with scientific solution to the growing problem

Global climate changes are leading to environmental disasters such as flooding, drought and salinisation, said Prof Hans-Werner Koyro of Geissen University, Germany.

These environmental changes are leading towards a major food crises for the growing world population, he said while speaking at a two-day international workshop titled 'Sustainable Development and Environment Protection'.

In many countries, such as Germany and Brazil, there is increasing tendency to use food crops such as maize and sugarcane to produce biofuel, said Koyro. However, the food versus fuel dilemma has to be addressed in order to ensure food security across the globe, he added.



The event, which culminated on Sunday, was organised by the Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization (ISHU), University of Karachi (KU), and Pakistan Academy of Science.

The aim of the workshop is to create awareness about global environment changes which are threatening health and food security. Students and faculty members from various departments such as botany, geography, ISHU and Lasbela University of Water, Agriculture and Marine Sciences attended workshops and seminar sessions during this event. The participants were also divided into various groups, based on their specialisation and research interests, and were asked to present work plans to counter the challenges of global environmental change through scientific research. The discussion sessions and work plans were coordinated by Prof Dr Benno Böer, Prof M Ajmal Khan and Prof Bilquees Gul.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2016.