To celebrate ‘International Mountain Day’, Institute of Mountain Environment, Bhaderwah campus, in collaboration with PG department of environmental sciences, Jammu University, organized a workshop, here on Tuesday.
The daylong national-level workshop, based on the theme of ‘Mountains Matter’, was held at LalDed Auditorium of Bhaderwah campus.
Dr C M Seth, retired chairman pollution control board and chief wildlife warden, was the chief guest on the occasion, while R S Jasrotia, retired CCF, was the guest of honour. ChewangNorphel, an engineer by profession and widely known as the ‘glacier man of India’ was the special guest at the event. Besides, rector Bhaderwah campus, Prof Anil K Raina, presided over the function.
Speaking on the occasion, the rector, while welcoming all the dignitaries who reached Bhaderwah despite harsh weather, said that almost one billion people live in mountainous areas and over half the human population depends on mountains for water, food and clean energy.
“Yet mountains are under threat from climate change, land degradation, over exploitation and natural disasters, with potentially far-reaching and devastating consequences, both for mountain communities and the rest of the world, “he said.
He informed the audience that mountains cover around 22 percent of the Earth’s land surface, host 25 percent of terrestrial biodiversity and 28 percent of forests. “Mountains also provide 60-80 percent of the world’s freshwater- without which sustainable development, that aims to eliminate poverty and hunger, would not be possible. Besides, 20 important food crops originate in mountains. These include potatoes, maize, barley, sorghum, apples and tomatoes. Also, mountains attract 15-20 percent of the global tourism,” Prof Raina said.
The key note addresses were presented by R S Jasrotia, ChewangNorphel and Dr C M Seth, experts for the workshop. In their addresses, the dignitaries laid emphasis to protect mountains from the challenges they are facing.
“Mountains are early indicators of climate change and as global climate change continues to warm mountains, people face even greater struggles to survive. The rising temperature also means that glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates, affecting freshwater supplies downstream for millions of people. The mountain communities, however, have a wealth of knowledge and strategies accumulated over generations, on how to adapt to climate variability,” the experts said.
DrNeeraj Sharma, head Institute of Mountain Environment (IME) Bhaderwah campus, while presenting the theme and inner report of the event said that IME Bhaderwah campus was established in 2011 and comprises of three faculties, faculty of life sciences, faculty of earth sciences and faculty of economics.
“The institute aims to conserve high priority mountain eco-systems, increase environmentally and culturally sustainable livelihoods for mountain communities, promote support for mountain cultures and issues through advocacy, research and outreach,” he said.
Dr Sharma further said that the national workshop was organized with an aim to aware the people of Chenab Valley about the importance of mountains and measures taken to save these treasures. “Without these mountains, we can’t think of survival as the mountains matter for water, disaster risk reduction, tourism and food, particularly for Jammu and Kashmir and generally for the entire Himalayan region,” he added.
To aware students about the importance of mountains, a debate/painting competition was also organized in the 2nd session. More than 40 students from various government and private schools participated in the competitions.
In poster/painting making, Momina Malik, Tazium Fatima and LaibaRehmat were declared first, second and third respectively, while as FahadIrshad, Mohammad Rizwan and Sania Malik bagged first, second and third in the symposium competition. Later, in order to develop a better understanding of the changing scenarios, in terms of ecology, economy and culture, with special reference to Bhaderwah and Chenab Valley, a panel discussion was organized. The deliberations resulted in the formulation of a blue print for effective management and conservation of nature and natural resources across the mountains of north-western Himalaya.
DFO Bhaderwah Khalid Metha, DrJatinderManhas, DrKuljeet Singh, DrRakesh Sharma, Bubloo Sharma, Dr Sunil Bhardwaj, Dr Mohammad Avias, ERO ArifHaleemKhateeb, faculty members, students and staff of the Bhaderwah campus were present on the occasion.
The vote of thanks was presented by ChheringTandup, assistant professor department of geography, Bhaderwah campus.