05 Jun 2024|Noida | Amity University, Noida-Online
Webinar on “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience" held at Amity to mark World Environment Day
Amity University Uttar Pradesh Noida campus celebrated World Environment Day by organizing a Webinar on the theme, "Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience" with the aim to sensitize faculty members, students and all stakeholders about the urgent need for land restoration and sustainable land management practices.
Deliberating upon the topic “Building climate-resilient dryland forests and agrosilvo pastoral production systems”, Ms. Clara Ariza, Senior Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Specialist, Switzerland, stated, “10-20% of the world’s drylands are degraded due to climate variability and unsustainable human activities including overgrazing, overcropping, overexploitation of dryland forests and urbanization. Therefore, policy, institutional, governance and practical interventions, implemented at the local and national scale, are required to address these challenges. In addition, expert consultations, prioritization of needs, design of a simple sustainability model for drylands and a shift in decision-making process needs to be implemented.”
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Sudhir Chintalapati, Additional Director, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), opined, “Desertification is a major challenge today, wherein fertile land is changing into deserts, due to climatic conditions, drought, deforestation, climate change, human activities and improper agriculture. Reducing waste, saving water and energy, taking green initiatives, using solar energy, using natural fertilizers for the soil, and green technologies are required to create a sustainable environment.”
Prof G.D. Sharma, Vice Chancellor, University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, averred, “The theme for World Environment Day this year is “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience”, which emphasizes upon the need to combat the challenges of global warming and climate change. Actionable strategies and tools which can contribute to the global restoration movement and drive positive change in our communities, are crucial to find solutions to environmental problems.”
Prof. (Dr.) Balvinder Shukla, Vice Chancellor, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, said, “Climate change has impacted our planet in a big way due to deforestation, carbon gas emission, pollution and high consumption of energy. Today, our environment is facing major issues and is slowly becoming hazardous for the existence of human life. The webinar will be helpful in raising awareness about the urgent need for land restoration and sustainable management practices.”
Prof. D. K. Bandyopadhyay, Mentor, Amity Institute of Environmental Sciences, said, “The five basic elements- earth, water, fire, air, and space are getting disbalanced and we are facing its consequences in the form of earthquakes, droughts, floods, less rainfall, extreme heat, and receding green cover. Therefore, there is an urgent need to protect the environment by tree plantation, avoiding use of chemicals for the soil and increasing biodiversity.”
Highlighting the significance of the Webinar, Prof. Tanu Jindal, Director, Amity Institute of Environmental Toxicology, Safety and Management, said, “This Webinar will provide a crucial forum for discussing these pressing issues such as drought, desertification and land degradation, which are significant in the face of environmental degradation and climate change.”