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| Unesco Halophyte Chair inaugurated at KU |
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
By our correspondent
Karachi
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Chair in the Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilisation (ISHU) at the University of Karachi (KU) was inaugurated on Monday by Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Javed Leghari.
In his inaugural address, Dr Leghari congratulated the university and the department on becoming the only Unesco Halophyte Chair across the world, and said that the new Chair would enable the university to research issues of sustainability of human life, including those of food and water scarcity.
“It is fortunate that a research by a Pakistani scientist has been recognised by the international community, and this has helped in the establishment of the Unesco Chair in the university. Pakistan may face problems of scarcity of food and water in the next 5 to 10 years, if appropriate measures are not taken. KU is the pioneering institute around the world which is efficiently dealing with the afore mentioned threats to life in the country while using resources which are naturally present in the region and are cost-effective”.
Dr Leghari said that this national favour should be the motto of every scientist; they should consider the fact that their research should not become a stagnant part of bookshelves.
While commenting on the standard of education in the University, the HEC chairman said that KU has now been listed in the world’s top universities. The dilemma, he said, is that higher education is available to only 4.6 per cent of the citizens in Pakistan. This translates into unstable careers, and that eventually leads to social crimes and frustration.
KU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof. Pirzada Qasim expressed his gratitude to ISHU Director Prof. Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan and his team for bringing such laurels to the university. He emphasised the need to establish a link between research and the industrial community. The VC added that the demand and supply cycle of water is under tremendous strain in arid and semi-arid regions of the world.
Prof Qasim explained that the high evapo-transpiration was causing salinisation, which is the reason behind 1 million hectare of the world’s water having become saline. He said that bad agro managerial measures are the primary causes of this crisis. “Pakistan has an agro-based economy, but the challenge that we face is of food security; we now have a population of humans and animals to feed, we counter about 30% shortage of fodder for animals. Since most of the land has become barren or saline, and so availability of fresh water is now a challenge.”
Dr Ajmal Khan told the audience that the best available option to deal with problems of water salinity was the use of plants that grow naturally – these plants are called Halophytes. “The cutting-edge technology that has been used by our researchers can promote the production and utilisation of Halophytes,” he said.
He said that ISHU had tested halophytic grass, and it gave satisfactory results. “We are now on the verge of producing edible oils and Halo diesel with the halophytes”, he informed the audience. KU Faculty of Science Dean Prof. Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi also spoke at the occasion. The ceremony was attended by members of the syndicate, faculty members and students.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
