GU plans marine research centre
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, JULY 3
Goa’s marine research will get a fillip with the department of Earth Science, Government of India, planning to set up a ‘Marine Nodal Centre for Microbial Cultural Collection’ at Goa University (GU).
“The nodal centre, which will be fully funded by department of Earth Science, Government of India, would be set up soon in the GU premises,” GU vice chancellor Prof Delip Deobagkar said.
He said that the centre would help in studying the marine biodiversity like fish, algae, plants and other species in a more comprehensive way thus helping in its conservation.
Prof Deobagkar was talking at biodiversity awareness programme jointly organised by Department of Botany, Goa University and Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ).
The professor believes that in the next 50 to 100 years marine resources will be seen as a major resource of the world.
Talking about climatic change, Prof Deobagkar said that the issue involves different aspects like climatic, economic and social aspect and as such we need to look at it as cumulative problem.
“The time has come, when we need to change our mindset. We need to think of what we can do to protect our future. There is no point in looking at past. Rather then thinking about ‘I’, we need to see as ‘we’,” he said.
Briefing on ‘biodiversity research at GU,’ faculty of life science and environment, Prof P V Desai informed that the university will be shortly carrying out a research on ‘Restoration of Biodiversity’, which, according to him “will help to study what we lost and how to restore it.”
He informed that the university was planning to set up a ‘medicinal plant garden’ in the premises.
“Research on algae and restoration of its biodiversity will be also undertaken,” Prof Desai said.
Pointing to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) survey, Prof Desai said that 75 percent of genetic diversity of world’s agricultural crops and fisheries respectively has been lost.
Environmentalist Dr Nandkumar Kamat also made a presentation on ‘Climatic Change and terrestrial biodiversity’.
The presentation was followed by technical sessions on biodiversity, which was attended by large sections of environmental experts.
An interactive session on ‘reporting biodiversity news: constraints and challenge we face’ with participation by working journalist and columnists.
