KU seminar urges creating awareness for protecting ozone layer, environment

Every person in society should know the importance of a clean and healthy environment and its effect on human life and all living things, and they must play their role in improving the environment in our surroundings.

We need to create awareness among the masses about the need to protect the ozone layer and the environment for the future of our generations. Unfortunately, schools, colleges, and even universities are not educating students about social values and norms whereas in the west students regardless of what they are studying get proper information and teach about the importance of social aspects and the role of individuals for the betterment of society.

We have to give topmost priorities to the social interests and civic issues of a society over the political benefits else we will never be able to progress in the right direction. These views were expressed by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Karachi Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi on Monday.

He was addressing the seminar organized by the KU Landscape and Gardening Council in collaboration with the KU’s Institute of Environmental Studies on the World Ozone Day under the theme of ‘Ozone for Life, Plant More Trees, Reduce Air Conditioners’ at the IES. The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is celebrated every year on September 16, and it was designed by the United Nations General Assembly.

The KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi mentioned that clean drinking water is essential for a healthy life because it cures many diseases but ironically a large number of people in the country do not have access to clean drinking water.

He observed that the governments and policymakers should know the problems of the high illiteracy rate in Pakistan, why different diseases are still common in the country why every party of the homeland is facing insecurity and street crime, and what are the durable solutions to such matters.

He said that nowadays science and technology-based knowledge is the backbone of the social and economic development of any nation, and those nations who have realized its importance are advanced in the world.

He further said that every year different activities regarding world environment and ozone day are held but no serious implementation is seen in the surroundings as we have limited ourselves to seminars and workshops only rather than taking practical measures that bring fruitful results.

On this occasion, an environmentalist Syed Mosuf Ali gave a detailed presentation on the importance of ozone and its impact on environmental pollution, saying that the loss of sunlight to the earth is due to the emission of chlorofluorocarbons from greenhouse gases. He mentioned that ozone, the protective layer that protects us from harmful rays, is damaged, due to which the earth’s temperature is increasing rapidly.

The KU Director of the Office of Research Innovation and Commercialization Dr Syeda Hoor-Ul-Ain advised that we all should adopt at least one plant and take good care till it becomes a well-grown tree to contribute to the healthy environment.

Other speakers including environmentalist Nasar Usmani, the KU Secretary LSG Dr Waqar Ahmad, and the KU Director IES Dr Muhammad Farrukh Nawaz explain different methods and practices to protect and improve the ozone layer and environment. The event was organized with the partnership of KU ORIC, Dua Foundation, Ertex HSE (Pvt) Limited, Karwan-e-Shajar, MCI, Ataleeq Pakistan, and HSEQ Reliance. It was attended by the faculty members and students of different departments and colleges.