KARACHI, Sept 12: The Sindh Wildlife Department on Friday offered its facilities to students to carry out research and other activities.

Sindh Wildlife Conservator Hussain Bux Bhagat said students can use the department’s reference library, museum to pursue their research activities.

Speaking at a certificate distribution ceremony of a training course on wetland management (assessment and survey techniques), organized by the WWF at its wetland centre at Sandspit, he said the students can also use the department’s other infra-structure facilities, like observatories, research centres established at Khirthar National Park, Haleji Lake and other wetlands in the province.

Teachers and students from the Jinnah University of Women participated in the training.

WWF’s deputy director-general Dr Ejaz said that the WWF would continue to carry out such trainings for the students and teachers so that awareness regarding the natural resources and the people knew about their importance.

Rahat Jabeen, who had conducted the course, stressed that steps be taken to keep the wetlands clean.

On the occasion she also mentioned the recent incident of oil spill from the Tasman Spirit, which ruined the beaches along the Shirin Jinnah Colony, Clifton, and Seaview. She stressed that a clean-up operation be carried out effectively so that the damage to the environment could be controlled.

The training comprised different topics, such as wetland assessment and survey techniques, parameters (biodiversity, chemical, physical, hydrological), remote sensing and aerial surveys, hydrological surveys, water chemistry assessment, bird survey, marine turtle survey and assessment techniques, aquatic vegetation survey, fish survey, herbarium techniques, mangrove survey, intertidal benthic survey, etc.

The participants were also taken to various field trips to visit and carry out surveys of mangroves, turtles beaches, etc. Besides Ms Jabeen, Jehangir Durrani, Fayyaz Rasool, Syed Ali Hasnain, Babar Husain also delivered lectures during the training.