Seminar to Celebrate World sustainability Day at IUBAT

The seminar was enlightened by Dr Susan Vize, Head of Office and UNESCO Representative to Bangladesh, as the chief guest, Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Kamal Hossain from Bangladesh Scientific and Industrial Research Council and Professor Selina Nargis, Treasurer and Director Administration of IUBAT as the guest of honour, Dr M. Abul Kalam Mallick from Bangladesh Meteorological Department as the special guest, Md. Faizullah Talukder, Head of the Climate Change Program of the Christian Commission for Development Bangladesh, as a guest speaker and Pro Vice-Chancellor professor Dr M Mahmudur Rarman from IUBAT.

Professor Dr Ataur Rahman, chairman of the Department of Environmental Science, Director of the IUBAT Institute of SDG Studies (IISS), chairperson of the Centre for Global Environmental Culture (CGEC), and Executive Director and Coordinator of RCE Greater Dhaka, delivered the welcome address to the seminar, which was chaired by Professor Abdur Rob, Vice Chancellor of IUBAT.

After that, Professor Selina Nargis, Treasurer and Director of Administration of IUBAT and Pro Vice-Chancellor professor Dr M Mahmudur Rarman of IUBAT, shared the values of IUBAT towards achieving sustainability through environmental education, sustainability practices and changing human behaviour.  

In the seminar, all the speakers drew attention to a deep understanding of the complexity of sustainability, challenges, and obstacles to achieving the SDGs. According to the chief guest, Dr Susan Vize, social and economic systems should be considered along with the environmental factors to achieve future sustainability. Dr Kamal Hossain emphasised the role of research and innovation in addressing environmental challenges. Dr M. Abul Kalam Mallick, as a meteorologist, focused on the changing weather and climate patterns and requested every department to play smart to overcome all the challenges. Md. Faizullah Talukder addressed the importance of utilisation of resources, climate change, and its impact on vulnerable communities in achieving sustainability.