MULTAN, Feb 27: We must recognise links between cultural diversity and biological diversity and promote an integrated approach to the resolution of environment and human development problems, Dr Zafarullah, Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) vice-chancellor, said on Monday.
Addressing a three-day 27th International Congress of Zoology at the BZU, he said both social and applied scientists should support the integrated protection, maintenance and restoration of the bicultural diversity of life through innovative research and educational activities.
The congress was organised by the Zoological Society of Pakistan and the BZU wherein Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan was chief guest.
Dr Zafar said that traditional people were being dispossessed of their lands, resources and lifestyles by external forces by crushing their cultural traditions or ability to maintain them. He did not explain external forces but said that over generations indigenous people of the country had accumulated a wealth of wisdom about their environment and their function, management and sustainable use, respect for nature and understanding of the natural environment.
He said that scientists must learn about environment from these indigenous people.
He said that Pakistan needed a better management of resources of flora, fauna and habitats and Pakistani zoologists were contributing to the cause.
He said that scientific knowledge doubled every 15 to 20 years, so the universities were important elements in any nation’s economic strategy.
He said that universities could contribute to biomedicine, agriculture and fisheries, management of natural resources, environment planning and understanding the natural world.
He said that the economic evidence about the relationship between research and development and the economic growth of developed countries was overwhelming and the BZU was focused on its responsibilities to keep the country’s economy thriving.
Sikandar Hayat Bosan said that he was satisfied that the Zoological Society of Pakistan had been organising annual congresses giving an opportunity to zoologists to interact and discuss contemporary professional issues.
He said that zoology was an integral part of biology and involved the study of animal life throughout the world and zoology today could be different from the purely descriptive science of the last century.
Zoology was as full of diversity as the animal kingdom and included cell biology, ecosystem and ecology, entomology, comparative physiology and biochemistry, parasitology, natural selection and evolution, genetics and molecular biology, endocrinology, and the most recent emerging genetic engineering, bioinformatics, proteomic, gene therapy, the minister said. He said all these areas were applied to human health and benefits but all experiments were carried out on animals.
He said that knowledge and understanding of biological principles were central to well-being of human kind particularly at a time when increasing populations and accompanying industrialisation were straining the planet’s ecosystem and in addition there is an increased awareness of the need to solve health and social problems.
He said the 21st century was the century of biotechnology and bioinformatics and during the past 20 years unprecedented progress was seen in biotechnology that had made revolutionary impacts on every aspect of human activity.
He said that in agriculture it is predicted that the next green revolution or more appropriately “evergreen revolution” or “gene revolution” would emerge because of biotechnological innovations.
“We have begun to understand how the genetic code is controlled and translated,” he said.
Prof AR Shakoori, Zoologist Society of Pakistan president, and organiser of the congress Prof Dr Javed Iqbal Mirza were also present.