EARTH SUMMIT PAKISTAN WAS VERY PRODUCTIVE

Islamabad: Former Sec. Gen. Foreign Affairs, Akram Zaki said as Chief Guest, ‘Earth Summit Pakistan was very productive and informative.’ The aim of the Summit was to improve communication, academic research, debate, diplomatic and social skills to formulate policies as young environmental scientists, to revive the creativity in the youth and to inculcate civic responsibility. Akram Zaki appreciated the efforts of the students and said that, ‘Increasingly, the constant destruction from the disasters (caused by various environmental factors), has reminded us of the imperative importance of environmental protection. To further this protection it is crucial for all the people to join hands and come up with better resolution of the problems that constantly strike at the heart of Pakistan and also the rest of the world.’ He also added that ‘Progress is only made by a small creative minority, you should choose to become a part of that creative minority.’

Earth Summit Pakistan was held in Islamabad from 12^th to 14^th March 2015. The event was arranged by Environmental Watch Trust (EWT) under US Department of States Project Smile. The Summit brought together students from different universities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi to discuss and identify loopholes in the policies, laws, rules and regulations on environmental protection. The Summit was organized by Shumaila Javed Bhatti, Ovais Ahmed Bin Najeeb, Madeeha Javed Bhatti and Ayesha Javed. The concluding ceremony was presided over by Akram Zaki, Former Secretary General Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Ghulam Hussain, Ex-Federal Minister. President Pakistan Association of Green Agricultural Journalist, Raja Javed Ali Bhatti also play key role for concluding ceremony of Earth Summit Pakistan in Bedari-e-Fikr Forum an Islamabad based Think Tank.

Guest of Honor, Dr. Ghulam Hussain also addressed the closing ceremony of Earth Summit Pakistan and said that, ‘Participatory students of Earth Summit are one in a million, and this means you have to take responsibility of the rest of the million.’ He also said, ‘Real enemy is ignorance. Ignorance leads to poverty. In Sweden they have successfully defeated this ignorance; and are a great example to follow. 40% of the area is covered with forest and they refer to it as the Green Gold.’

Chairperson Environmental Watch Trust, Shumaila Javed Bhatti in her keynote address said, ‘Earth Summit Pakistan’s aim was to bring together the future intellects i.e. the students of environmental sciences, and to provide them with real life problems currently affecting Pakistan. After deliberating on the issues they formulated their own policies. Along with this the students were also given training workshops to further stimulate their scientific and critical thinking skills.’

She added that, ‘In this conference, some new environmental issues were discussed which were not discussed before and some old issues that recur in the worlds memory every now and then to remind us of the sheer inconsistency and unsustainability of our ways. Hopefully, everyone leaves the summit a little more aware, a little more equipped to at least understand, if not solve, the political, financial and moral corruption that surrounds us at every level.’

Shumaila especially addressed the participants and quoted Margaret Mead and said that, ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’