ECOSF participated in the Launching Ceremony of COMSTECH Forum on Environment Ecosystem Restoration (CFEER) on World Environment Day and International Seminar on “Land Degradation”
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COMSTECH Launched Forum on Environment and Ecosystem Restoration and organized International Seminar on Land Degradation, and commemorated World Environment Day on June 6, at COMSTECH Secretariat. The event was hybrid which was attended by in-person and online participants. The participants comprising of experts, environmentalists, faculty, students and social workers attended the Forum. President ECOSF Prof. Manzoor Hussain Soomro was also amongst the attendees.
The Coordinator General of COMSTECH Prof. Iqbal Choudhary welcomed all the distinguished speakers and guests. In his address, the Coordinator General said that based on the central importance of the fast emerging environmental and ecosystem challenges and their impact on the livelihood of people in OIC region, it has been decided to launch a permanent forum to deliberate upon collective actions to meet these ecological challenges. In the Muslim lands, urban expansion continues, whereas desertification, soil erosion, low vegetation covers, and depletion of fresh water bodies has created an alarming situation which demands urgent and collective actions to avoid fast approaching major human tragedies, added Prof Choudhary. He shared said that the COMSTECH Forum of Environment and Ecosystem Restoration would be working in the Framework of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2023, as well as the UN Framework on UN 2030 SDG Agenda. Prof. Choudhary hoped that COMSTECH Forum on Environment and Ecosystem Restoration would strengthen the work of the OIC in these areas.
During the ceremony, the message of the Secretary General of OIC, H. E. Hissein Brahim Taha, was also read. In his message, Mr. Taha said that the world environment day is an important international day for world environment. He said that this year’s theme “Only one Earth” with the focus on “living sustainably in harmony with nature” gives us opportunity to protect our earth and adopt green technologies. He further said the developed countries must encourage and support developing countries to develop green technologies. He said the OIC attaches high importance to the concerns related to environment, climate change and biodiversity. He urged the integrated measures to reduce effects of climate change and natural disasters. He stressed the need of incorporating environmental concerns in the international strategies for sustainable development. He suggested that the international and regional cooperation needs to be strengthened in areas of climate change in order to protecting the nature for wellbeing of our future generations.
The inaugural session was also addressed by Dr. Dechen Tsering, regional director and representative for Asia and the Pacific, UN environment programme, Bangkok, Dr. Barron Joseph Orr, Lead scientist at United Nations convention to combat desertification, Bonn, and Dr. Djime Adoum, representative of the Sahel coalition, and Dr. Paul Ouedraogo, Deputy executive secretary, CILSS-permanent interstate committee for drought control in the Sahel.
Eight international experts participated in the international seminar on land degradation and delivered talks on land degradation, food systems, crop modelling, and the activities performed in Tanzania, Tunisia and The Gambia to address this phenomenon.