KARACHI, Dec 16: The Marine Reference Collection and Resource Centre (MRCC) of the University of Karachi and Raffles Museum of Bio-diversity Research, National University of Singapore (NUS) have singed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to initiate research on aquatic (freshwater) life in Pakistan and exchange of researchers, students and staff.

Giving the details of MoU signed between the two institutions, MRCC Director Dr Quddusi B. Kazmi told PPI on Friday that hardly any work or research had been conducted on freshwater fish, shrimps, crabs and other aquatic life in Pakistan, which was diminishing fast owing to variety of reasons.

“Unfortunately, most of the research has been carried out on marine life in the Arabian sea while aquatic life was neglected in the country for the last many years. Valuable foreign exchange can be earned by preserving and culturing the domestic aquatic life while it would also help us knowing our history, threats to the biodiversity and remedies” she told.

According to her, the MoU is aimed at promoting and cooperating in the areas of systematic of animals of Pakistan, Singapore and the adjacent regions, building of collections for both institutions for research references and deposition and collaboration to conduct joint scientific research and academic consultations.

She told that as part of the MoU, she had recently visited the Raffles Museum NUS and through joint research, identified two species and a genus of aquatic life in Pakistan and expressed the hope that the collaboration between the two countries would help protect the biodiversity in the country.

To a query, she told that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) had approved a project worth Rs5.6 million, submitted by her to initiate survey and conduct research on freshwater prawns and possibility of its production and export.

Dr Kazmi observed that MoUs should also be signed with India as Pakistan and India shared sea and land borders and both were facing similar kinds of threats and dangers to their marine and freshwater life.—PPI