Staff Report
KARACHI: The world population currently stands at about 7.7 billion people and is growing rapidly. This increase in the population growth must be accompanied by a massive increase in food production.
However, over the past 50 years, per capita availability of arable land has decreased by about twofold as a result of increasing urbanization and land degradation caused by various environmental constraints such as salinity.
These views were expressed by Professor Dr. Sergey Shabala, University of Tasmania, Australia. While delivering a keynote lecture entitled “halophytes – an untapped resource for global food security”. He was addressing the online symposium entitled Dr. Muhammad Ajmal Khan Memorial Symposium on Halophytes for Science and Society.
It was organized in connection with the UNSECO World Science Day for Peace and Development and held at the Dr. Muhammad Ajmal Khan Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization (MAK-ISHU), University of Karachi. UNESCO- Pakistan and the United Nations Association of Pakistan (UNAP) were also the partners of the event.
Professor Dr. Sergey Shabala argued that the reliance on salt-excluding crops is counterproductive and environmentally unsustainable. “New breeding paradigms are required to incorporate halophytic traits that were present in wild relatives but lost during domestication.”
Professor Dr. Xiaojing Liu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China delivered a keynote lecture entitled “living with saline lands with harmony”. He informed the participants that saline lands are not useless but a precious resource.
He shared that with proper management and cultivation of halophytes, these wastelands can be transformed into productive croplands. Professor Dr. Liu discussed many management techniques, which can be used to improve the productivity of saline lands.
Another speaker, Professor Dr. Mark Tester of King Abdullah University, Saudi Arabia delivered a lecture entitled “genomics and genetics to domesticate halophytes”. He said that the use of modern tools of genomics and genetics can be utilized to transform wild halophytic plants into the crops of the future, which will not only help in ensuring food security but will also help in sequestering rising carbon dioxide levels.
He mentioned that many halophytes such as Quinoa and Salicornia are already being cultivated on a commercial scale and is sold in many western countries. He advised that with modern molecular biology techniques and engineering we can develop more halophyte crops to ensure food security in the future.
Professor Dr. Hans-Werner Koyro from the University of Giessen, Germany informed the participants about “green science for global climate change”. He said that global climate change is a reality and its glimpses can be seen in form of weather anomalies, which is really worrisome.
He mentioned that many parts of the world including Pakistan face severe water scarcity and there is a dire need to utilize halophytes as alternate crops to supplement the food and forage requirements in the future.
Earlier, Director KU’s MAK-ISHU Professor Dr. Bilquees Gul during her welcome speech informed participants about the aim of the symposium. She said that only science-based solutions could provide a sustainable way to combat the challenges of global climate change and food security.
She mentioned that this online symposium would create awareness among researchers, science students, and policymakers about the utilization of halophytes (wild plants of saline ecosystems) as ‘non-conventional crops’ to transform currently barren arid-saline lands into a resource to ensure food security in the future.
Later, the Director of Office and UNESCO-Pakistan representative Patricia McPhillips stressed the importance of science for peace and development. She also highlighted the long-term collaboration between KU’s MAK-ISHU and UNESCO that resulted in the release of a book series ‘Sabkha Ecosystems’, which is considered a useful reference work in the field of vegetation science.
The Head of Youth UNAP Mishal Birgees Khan coordinated the symposium. At the end of the symposium, a video tribute was presented to the former vice-chancellor of the University of Karachi and the founding director of the Institute, late Professor Dr. M. Ajmal Khan for his pioneering work on halophyte biology and utilization that spans over four decades.
