ECOSF participated in the 2nd International Forum of Scientific Organizations and the founding General Assembly ANSO in BRI held in Beijing, China

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The Second International Science Forum of National Scientific Organizations on the Belt and Road Initiative was organized by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing – China on November 4-5, 2018. The Forum was held in conjunction with the founding General Assembly of the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO) in the Belt and Road Region. This mega event brought together scientists and experts devoted to deepening cooperation for a shared future for mankind. The inaugural event drew some 700 scientific representatives from over 40 countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the launching ceremony, recognizing the importance of cooperation in science and technology among countries in building the Belt and Road, improving people's livelihood, promoting development and coping with common challenges. Vice Premier Liu He was the Chief Guest of the event. He sincerely hoped that the alliance can promote a spirit of science when dealing with common concerns. He also looked forward to it steadily growing into an international think tank spawning more young talent. Prof. Bai Chunli, the President of the CAS, said ANSO would be committed to promoting regional sustainable development, academic capacity building, cooperation and exchanges in science, technology and innovation.

President ECO Science Foundation (ECOSF) Prof. Dr. Manzoor Hussain Soomro was invited as guest speaker and a panelist in panel discussion in ANSO-Digital Belt and Road Session. The forum was chaired by Prof. Guo Huadong, Professor Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Session was Chaired by Prof. HAN Qunli, Executive Director Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR). The session focused on big earth data applications in diverse fields related to ecology, environmental monitoring, disaster risk reduction, big data-driven multidisciplinary data integration and applications.

Prof. Soomro delivered his presentation on “Climate Change Impacts and Disaster risks in the ECO Region.” In his presentation, Prof. Soomro briefly outlined the climate change impacts and various disaster risks in the ECO region. He presented disaster risk profiles of each ECO Member State and shared that ECO region is heavily affected by disasters due to its changing climate, geological structure and location on a high-risk geography. Prof. Soomro also shared the intervention measures such as the ECO Regional Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which was developed to strengthen the disaster risk management capacities of the ECO member countries. Prof Soomro emphasized on the developing adequate science education to educate and addres the climate change impacts. He urged global scientific community to use Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE) approach to meet the challenges.

Later on November 5, 2018 forum concluded with a Panel Discussion on “The Digital Silk Road to Sustainable Development” which was chaired by Prof. CHEN Fang. Prof Dr. Manzoor Hussain Soomro  participated in the panel discussion as one of the panelists. Prof Soomro appreciated the ambitious efforts of Chinese leadership for extraordinary vision for the development for the Digital Silk Road to Sustainable Development. Prof. Soomro said that this digital silk route will promote sustainable development through harnessing the application of big data to solve challenges facing the planet.