A three day workshop on RECENT TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCES: IMPACT ON BIODIVERSITY" is being arranged by Dr. M. Ajmal Khan, Professor and Director of the Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization at the University of Karachi funded by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences.
Biodiversity, that is all kinds of living organisms present in nature are being destroyed drastically due to industrialization and Global warming. The results may be catastrophic with far reaching implications as a number of useful organisms may be lost forever even before they are properly identified. This can be a great loss for mankind and efforts are needed to counter it. The present workshop is an effort in the direction of identifying the problems and the possible solutions to offset the consequences.
The Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization which is organizing this workshop is only one of its kind devoted exclusively to work on halophytes are plants that can tolerate high salinity of soil and water. There is a need to identify suitable individuals from the vast variety of halophytes found especially on the coast of Sindh and Balochistan which can be used for various purposes like forage/ fodder for animals, as source of oil seed, medicine, biofuel, ornamentals, sand binders etc.
The Institute is conducting goal oriented research covering all these aspects and is in the process of developing collaboration with National and International Institutes for better understanding of the problems involved. Ongoing collaboration is already in place with Chinese Academy of Sciences while a recent linkage has been forged with University of Tsukuba, Japan to work on advanced molecular aspects governing salt tolerance in these halophytes. Prof. Kazuo Watanabe from Japan is participating in this workshop to formalize this program. The workshop was inaugurated by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui who appreciated the efforts being made by Dr. Ajmal and team of his scientists on various aspects of research in the field, while Prof. Watanabe deliberated upon various aspects of Genetically modified organisms which his group is conducting on plants in Japan and Prof. S.I. Ali, the Director General of A.Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (KIBGE) spoke on the scope and limitations of Biodiversity. In the evening session, Prof. Dr. M. Qaiser, the Vice-Chancellor, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology, Karachi in his keynote presentation emphasized the importance of endemic species of Chitral and efforts for their conservation. Prof. Dr. M. Ashraf, the Dean of Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad deliberated on the challenges and prospects of modifying plants to grow them on salt affected soils. Scientists of repute from within the country will be sharing their knowledge with the participants during the three day workshop.