Dark skies should be conserved as precious natural resource: experts

Islamabad : Dark skies should be considered a natural resource that we need to conserve and pass on to our future generations.

The experts on the subject said this while sharing their thoughts with the audience at a Webinar on “Light pollution and conservation of the dark skies” organised here by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). Managing Director, National Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (NEECA), Dr Sardar Mohazzam, informed the participants that NEECA developed the Minimum Energy Performance Standards for LEDs which ultimately lead to the conservation of dark skies. Besides, we are working with the manufacturers, assemblers, and importers to put lighting standards in place, he added.

Michael Marlin of the International Astronomical Union emphasised that we should take dark skies as a national resource and it is important to explore the monetary value of the dark skies through astro-tourism.

Technical Lead for the Clean Lighting Coalition (CLIC), Michael Scholand on the occasion shared some insights from the French National Regulation to reduce outdoor light pollution.

Dr. Vaqar Ahmed, Joint Executive Director, SDPI, while covering diverse aspects of the topic, said that we need to integrate the lightning agenda into economic and fiscal policies. Therefore, we need to step up advocacy, outreach, and policy engagement along with the capacity building of the stakeholders in this area as a coalition, he asserted.

Founder of Cosmic Tribe and International Astronomical Union Rayan Khan covered various aspects of non-scientific terminologies and engaged the audience through different strategies such as attractive costumes in the debate on the dark sky conservation debate. He asserted that we already have dark skies in Pakistan which we need to preserve in a way that it can serve as a cultural heritage for our future generations.

Dr. Zaigham Abbas, National Programme Manager, Ministry of Climate Change, was of the view that we need to involve the provincial departments and stakeholders in the process and educate the manufacturers along with the tourism industry to mobilise work on controlling light pollution and conservation of the dark skies in Pakistan.