By A Shehzad
LAHORE: Rural Community Development Society (RCDS), in partnership with Welthungerhilfe, organized a seminar on promoting localized strategies for smog mitigation.
The seminar was held at the Institute of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of the Punjab, Lahore, on January 15, 2025.
It was attended by over 250 participants, including students, faculty members, civil society representatives, media personnel, and government officials. The main objective of the seminar was to enhance students’ understanding of the causes, consequences, and adverse effects of smog on health, the environment, and quality of life so that they can contribute to smog mitigation.
The experts from academia, researchers, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), 1122 rescue, and city traffic police officials were invited to share their insights and strategies on smog mitigation in the seminar.
Qaisar Iqbal, Managing Director of RCDS, welcomed the participants and shared the objectives of the seminar. While addressing the audience, he emphasized that it is the responsibility of all stakeholders, including government authorities, the public, researchers, and students, to play their part in protecting the environment. He also highlighted the need for nationwide tree plantation efforts.
Dr Sajid Rashid Ahmad, Dean, Faculty of Geosciences, University of the Punjab, addressed the seminar, emphasizing that smog is severely impacting the lives of everyone. He said that there is a need to sensitize students regarding smog and its effects on ecosystem.
He added that students should raise awareness in their communities to clean the environment.
Furthermore, he stated that human beings are responsible to create smog in the society.
He urged the young generation to play the constructive role through social media platforms to raise awareness on smog mitigation.
While addressing the seminar experts shared the Short Term and Long-Term Solutions for Winter Smog in Punjab. A Strategic Road map to address the Smog Crisis in Lahore was shared with the participants.
To encourage students to undertake research, the latest research and findings with global perspectives on climate change was shared with them.
The government officials addressed the seminar, and shared policy interventions and government initiatives to foster coordination in Smog.
The role of PDMA and Engagement of Stakeholders in Smog Mitigation in Punjab was comprehensively discussed with audience. In addition, the role of enforcement city traffic police, and district administration to combat smog issue through Legal Compliances were shared with participants.
To raise awareness among students, a comprehensive presentation was delivered, highlighting the causes, contributing factors, and health impacts of smog.
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