World Wetlands Day celebrated at BGSBU

Rajouri : World Wetlands Day was celebrated in the Centre for Biodiversity Studies, BGSB University, Rajouri, in which the faculty, research scholars and students of the Environmental Sciences, participated. This year’stheme of World Wetlands Day 2022 is “Wetlands Action for People and Nature” which is in line to draw attention to the sustainable use of wetlands and promote conservation efforts.
Prof. Akbar Masood, Vice Chancellor BGSBU in his message highlighted that the lack of conservation of wetlands can have harmful consequences in several aspects such as climate change mitigation, water and food security, disaster management and so on. World Wetlands Day, as a result, becomes an extremely significant event that reminds people why we need to save our wetlands, Prof. Akbar said.
An online lecture was delivered by Mr. Rohit Rattan, Associate Coordinator & In-charge Western Himalayan Programme, WWF-India. Dr. Shreekar Pant, Coordinator, CBS introduced the speaker and conducted the proceeding of the program. Dr. Pant deliberated that wetland play a crucial role in water security and are responsible for nurturing complex ecosystems. Wetlands also help to fight climate change and prevent soil erosion. Dr Susheel Verma, Associate Dean, School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, while giving his introductory remarks, stressed on raising awareness about the global wetlands cover and their global conservation.
The speaker emphasized on the importance of Wetlands, their types and their importance as carbon stores, and acting as one of the most important sinks for greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. He not only highlighted the critical importance of the wetlands for our planet, but also discussed on how sustainably we can make our relationship with them. The concluding remarks and a formal vote of thanks was presented by Dr. Mamta Bhat, Assistant Professor.