World environment day: Seminar on forests organised by SALU

Sindh chief forest conservator, Rahim Bux Awan, said nearly 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood.

SUKKUR: Shah Abdul Latif University, (SALU) Khairpur Centre for Bio-Diversity and Conservation arranged a dialogue on ‘Forest: Nature at your Service’, to celebrate World Environmental Day. The Sindh chief forest conservator, Rahim Bux Awan, said that one-third of the earth is covered with forests and nearly 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood. Forests play a vital role in the battle against climate change and release oxygen into the atmosphere, while storing carbon dioxide. They also create and maintain soil fertility and help regulate the often devastating impact of storms, floods and fires, said Awan. The Centre for Bio-Diversity and Conservation director, Professor Dr Ghulam Raza Bhatti, said that conserving and expanding forests should be recognised as a business opportunity. “An investment of $30 billion to fight deforestation and degradation could provide a return of $2.5 trillion in new products and services,” he said. Speakers agreed that the government of Pakistan should establish a forest training institute at SALU, Khairpur to educate BSc and MSc students and forest courts should also be introduced in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2011.