Guwahati, Nov 18: Environmental degradation is known to all. However, we hardly do anything about it. If we don’t take responsibility of our mother earth, one day this earth is destined to be doomed.
This was stated by Prof. Arup Kumar Sarma, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Guwahati in the inaugural session of the International Earth Science Conference 2022 on “Sustainable Development: Challenges and the Way Forward” here today.
The two-day long conference has been organized by Department of Earth Science, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya in collaboration with Department of Environmental Science, Tezpur University. A Souvenir and Book of Abstracts was also released by the dignitaries during the programme, according to a Press release.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof Arup Kumar Sarma said that urbanization is an
ecological disturbance that the modern world accepts as essential in the absence of a better
alternative that could provide an equal level of comfort. “Urbanisation need not be
unfortunate reality built against nature, it has to be unique, rationally built admirable nature”, he added.
The scientific community is, therefore, searching for ways towards ecologically
sustainable urban development.
Addressing the conference, Prof. Basant Maheswari said that complex problems often require simple solutions. This is very much true for groundwater management. Communication about what is happening, what can be done and how it can be done is the key with a common pool and invisible resource such as groundwater.
“We need to develop and simplify groundwater science that can be used by farmers and implemented by government agencies”, he said. He also said that to succeed, any solution needs to start with people, and groundwater scarcity is a problem related to people’s greed, invisibility, lack of understanding and invisible resource.
Addressing as the by the Chief Guest, Prof. Narendra S. Chaudhari, Hon’ble VC, Assam
Science & Technology University, said that the Tocklai Tea Research Institute in Jorhat
documented 300,000 insects in the eastern Assam during the British period but in a recent
survey by AASTU it was found that 90% of the insects are now extinct. This no doubt
reflects a serious ecological imbalance.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. G. D. Sharma, VC, USTM said that in the last two decades
resources in the earth are decreasing alarmingly creating new challenges, affecting climate
change and global warming. Imbalanced environmental degradation is causing many diseases on earth. Prof. Apurba Kumar Das, Department of Environmental Science, Tezpur University also spoke on the occasion.
Earlier, Dr. Palme Borthakur. Assistant Professor, earth Science and Dr. Lalit Saikia,
Convener, IESC 2022 welcomed the delegates and participants while the vote of thanks was
delivered by Dr. Eahya Al Huda, HoD & Organizing Secretary, IESC 2022.