JALUKBARI, July 19 - The Zoological Society of Assam (ZSA) unit of DK College and IQAC of DK College, Mirza organised a national webinar in collaboration with ZSA, Guwahati, on Saturday on the topic �Grassland Ecosystem � its significance, conservation and management�.
More than 325 participants from different parts of India, Malaysia and the Philippines took part in the webinar. Dr Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar, eminent scientist of NGO Aaranyak, who was the main speaker, stressed the need for conservation of grasslands, which is the habitat for a variety of indigenous species like the one-horned rhino, pigmy hog, hispid hare, Bengal florican, water buffalo, etc.
He said that at present, large scale shrinkage of grassland due to human settlement, agriculture, livestock grazing, unsystematic fire, etc., has become a great cause of concern for ecologists, and all-round efforts are needed from the government to make conservation a people�s movement to save the degraded grasslands.
Lahkar had won the IUCN World Heritage Hero Award in 2016, becoming the first Asian to get this honour for his contribution towards conservation of the Manas World Heritage Site. He is a member of the IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group, and an expert member under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Dr Deepalee Das, associate professor and head of the Dept of Zoology at DK College, was the coordinator of the webinar, which was earlier inaugurated by principal Dr Nabajyoti Das. ZSA president Priyabrata Lahkar was the chief guest, while ZSA general secretary Prof Jogen Chandra Kalita spoke a few words on ZSA. Dr Arunabh Chakraborty, assistant professor of civil engineering at Tezpur University, was also present.
