On December 11, 2023, the University of Swat in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) GLOF-II Pakistan, the Ministry of Climate Change, Islamabad, and the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the Climate Change Fund celebrated International Mountain Day 2023 on the theme “Restoring mountain ecosystems”. The day covered different events like Panel discussion, Posters, Models, & Paintings competitions, and an Awareness Walk held at the Main Campus of the university.
The Focal Person of the Event, Dr. Imran (Assistant Professor of Sociology and Head of the Department of Social and Gender Studies) welcomed the participants including the representatives from the UNDP (Mr. Iqtidar Ul Mulk, Provincial Coordinator, UNDP), and Mr. Najib Ullah (District Forest Officer, Swat).
On this occasion, the Vice Chancellor, University of Swat (Prof. Dr. Hassan Sher, SAARC Gold Medalist) graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. The Vice Chancellor highlighted that mountains are more than just topographical characteristics; they are the keepers of biodiversity, and the background of rich sociocultural traditions. He further added that universities are vital to the conservation of the environment and the preservation of mountain ecosystems.
Mr. Iqtidar Ul Mulk from the UNDP shed light on the initiatives under the Glof-II project of the UNDP.
The Panelists for the Panel discussion responded to different questions asked by the moderator (Dr. Imran). During the Panel discussion, Mr. Adnan Khan (Head of the Centre for Earth and Space Sciences) responded regarding the mountains and their geological features in Pakistan. Dr. Kifayatullah Khan (Chairperson, Department of Environmental and Conservation Sciences) explained the mountain ecosystem and its key challenges. Dr. Naveed Alam (Head, Institute of Agriculture Sciences and Forestry) expressed his views about the possible strategies for mountain ecosystem restoration. Dr. Haider Ali (Chairperson, Centre for Plant Sciences and Biodiversity) shared his views on the future direction of mountain restoration in Pakistan.
Besides, the Jury (Prof. Dr. Fazal Mabood, Dean, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, UoS) and Mr. Najib Ullah (District Forest Officer, Swat) visited the posters, academic models, and paintings of the students and decided top three positions holders in each category. The Department of Environmental and Conservation Sciences has won the 1st position in Painting, 1st and 2nd positions in Poster, and 1st position in Academic Models competitions, whereas, the students from Geology secured 1st position in poster presentation and 3rd position in the academic models. Also, the students from Forestry won 2nd position in the academic model’s competition whereas, students from Botany secured 1st position in poster presentation and 2nd & 3rd positions in Painting competition. In this regard, shields and certificates were presented to the panelists, winners, and organizers.
In the end, the participants attended an awareness walk to disseminate the message of 2023 “Restoring mountain ecosystems”.
The Hon. Vice Chancellor praised the work done and presented by the students in the form of posters, models, and paintings. He also appreciated the Focal Person of the event (Dr. Imran) for organizing a successful event.
