There is a need to organise international training workshops on modern research techniques regularly at the universities as these would provide research scholars more chances of interaction with specialists and foreign experts.
Vice Chancellor (VC), Quaid-e-Azam University Dr Masoom Yasinzaion said this while addressing International Training Workshop on “Modern Research Techniques in Ecology”, here Friday.
Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH), Pakistan Science Foundation in collaboration with Department of Animal Sciences, Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) Islamabad and Snow Leopard Foundation Pakistan organised this workshop to build capacity of the participants in designing ecological studies and analysis of simple to complex ecological data and develop different statistical models.
The VC congratulated the organizers for arranging workshop on such an important subject. He said Ecology is an interesting field as collection of data and analyzing it is a fun.
Addressing the international delegates, he said Pakistan is a peaceful country not as depicted by some western TV channels. Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) and President-Designate of Economic Cooperation Organization Science Foundation (ECOSF), Prof. Dr. Manzoor H. Soomro said this international training workshop is a unique activity as it is a collaborative activity by more partners than before to overcome the financial problem of arranging such events. He said this is the way to work together. He also highlighted PSF collaborative programs to promote science and technology in the country.
He extended the support of PSF and ECOSF forums to organize training activities to promote research in the country.
Director General, PMNH, Dr Syed Azhar Hasan, said the workshop will provide hands on training on modern data collection techniques and develop expertise in data analysis using statistical software “R-Program” which is widely used by ecologists.
He said the workshop will also provide an opportunity to researchers to interact with the foreign scientists and benefit from their vast experience in wildlife conservation practices. Ecological Research in Pakistan remained an ignored field, the DG said, adding, during last couple of decades, life sciences departments of universities have predominantly focused on research in the fields like microbiology, molecular biology, genetics and physiology.
He said, the disciplines of ecology and taxonomy were considered old fashioned and least important, however, the situation is now being realized by the academia and research/conservation organizations, and many of them have a desire to develop capacities in ecological research.
As limited expertise in this field is available in the country, international collaboration and involvement of researchers from the technologically advanced countries is very much required which can help in capacity building for research-based conservation, he added.
Prof Sandro Lovari from University of Siena, Italy, Dr Tom McCarthy, Executive Director, Snow Leopard Programs, Panthera, USA, Dr Muhammad Ali Nawaz, Department of Animal Sciences, QAU and Dr Muhammad Rafiq, Director, Zoological Sciences Division, PMNH also spoke on the occasion.
