Srinagar, Dec 12: Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir organised an international webinar to commemorate the International Mountain Day.
Renowned agroforestry expert, Dr Swoyambhu Man Amatya, who is agroforestry coordinator of International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFO) conducted the webinar. His webinar was on case studies and personal experiences regarding successful plantation in the denuded and barren hills of Afghanistan.
The programme was organised by the university’s Faculty of Forestry in collaboration with Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana under World Bank-ICAR funded National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) for institutional development of SKUAST-K.
Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST-K, Prof Mushtaq Ahmad in his message emphasized celebrating the day for creating awareness about the importance of mountains in providing food and climate sustainability.
Director, Planning and Monitoring, SKUAST-K and PI NAHEP, Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai, who was the chief guest at the occasion cautioned about neglecting mountains in the wake of sustaining the ever-growing population and livestock. He stressed to have a holistic approach in planting uncovered hills for conservation and enhanced productivity.
Dean Faculty of Forestry Prof Tariq Hussain Masoodi talked about climate change and mountain ecosystem in the context of J&K. He gave a detailed account of vegetation dynamics in mountains of J&K under the prevailing climatic conditions. The participants had an interactive question/answer session with experts just after the talks were delivered. Dr Akhlaq Amin Wani, associate professor and Coordinator moderated the event.
The event concluded with the expert comments by Prof Sanjaav K Chauhan Deputy Coordinator IUFRO Agroforestry. More than 100 students and scholars from various universities and institutions from across the country, including SKUAST-K, PAU Ludhiana, University of Calcutta, Cluster University, Banaras Hindu University, Islamia College of Science and Tech, J&K Forest Department, Central Agricultural University, Bihar, Bihar Agricultural University and others participated in the webinar.
Others who attended the program include Prof AzmatAlam (Assoc Director SKUAST-K), Prof KN Qaisar (HOD, SAF), Prof PA Khan (HOD FBT), Prof MA Islam (HOD NRM), Dr PA Sofi, Dr GM Bhat, Dr SNZ Geelani, Dr Aasif Ali Gatoo, Dr Amerjeet Singh, Dr TA Rather, Dr AR Malik, Dr Sheeraz Saleem Bhat (ICAR-IGFRI), Dr Megna Rashid, Dr Shah Murtaza, Dr Amir Farooq, Dr Tahir Mushtaq, Dr NA Pala, Dr Maqbool Rather, AA Mir and Owais Bhat.