Science City marks International Biodiversity Day
Pushpa Gujral Science City, in collaboration with the Punjab Biodiversity Board, celebrated International Biodiversity Day with great enthusiasm, focusing on the theme “Harmony with Nature and Sustainable Development.”
Over 300 students from various schools across Punjab participated in the event, showcasing their creativity and commitment to environmental conservation. A series of engaging competitions like face-painting, photography and slogan-writing were organised to promote awareness and inspire action among the youth.
Dr Rajesh Grover, Director, Pushpa Gujral Science City, in his introductory remarks on the occasion emphasised the significance of the year’s theme. He highlighted the urgent need to shift from an exploitative relationship with nature to one based on respect, balance and long-term sustainability.
He added that nature provides us with essential resources — food, clean air, medicine and energy while also protecting us from natural disasters and supporting vital ecosystems.
Expressing concern over the alarming global decline in biodiversity, he cautioned that this crisis threatened not only wildlife but also human health, economic development and global stability.
He urged everyone to recognise their collective responsibility in safeguarding biodiversity as the key to a healthier planet and a sustainable future for generations to come.
On this occasion, Dr Jagbir Singh, former professor with the Department of Zoology and Environmental Science, Punjabi University, Patiala, in his keynote address, highlighted the alarming loss of biodiversity across the globe. He pointed that global warming and large-scale deforestation as two of the most significant threats to plant and animal species worldwide.
He informed10 per cent of India’s plant species are currently under threat, with over 150 medicinal plants having disappeared in recent decades.
Further, approximately 10 per cent of flowering plants, 20 per cent of mammals and 5 per cent of birds in India are endangered. He also brought out that nearly one million animal species are at risk of extinction and warned that all corals could be bleached by the end of the century.
In the photography competition, Sukhpreet Singh from Government High School Hamira secured the first prize. Paavni and Akshara from Kamla Nehru Public School, Phagwara, stood first in the face-painting competition. The first prize in the slogan-writing competition was bagged by Gurnam Kaur from Saffron Public School, Phagwara.
