MEETING REPORT Environmental Challenges and Sustainability* Purabi Saikia1, Kavita Parmar1 and Amit Kumar2* 1Department of Environmental Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Brambe-835205, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India 2Department of Land Resource Management, Central University of Jharkhand, Brambe-835205, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India *Email: [email protected]; [email protected], Cell: +91 7004773095 The International Conference on Environmental Challenges and Sustainability (ICECS 2018) was attended by almost 250 participants and delegates, wherein 158 papers were presented with 10 plenary lectures and keynote addresses, 07 invited talks and 42 oral presentations by young and senior scientists, industrialists and academicians and 99 poster presentations by research scholars and students and a total of 227 contributions were published in the souvenir. The three days conference marked with the active participation of 53 renowned institutions/organizations/universities/colleges/industries of India and Malaysia (University of Malaya) including IITs (IIT-Delhi, IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Roorke, IIT-ISM-Dhanbad, etc.), central/state universities (University of Hyderabad, Telangana, Central University of South Bihar, Central University of Rajasthan, Tezpur University, Assam, Dr. Harisingh Gaur Central University, Sagar, JNU, DU, TERI University, New Delhi, BIT-Mesra, Tripura University, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru etc.), research institutions (CSIR-NML, NEERI, CIMFR, IFP Ranchi, IFB Hyderabad, ISEC, ATREE Bengaluru, etc.) and industries/companies (SAIL, Ranchi, CCL Ranchi, The Tata Power Company Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., Jamshedpur, IORA ecological Solutions, New Delhi etc.). There were total six technical sessions, six poster sessions, one plenary session and one panel discussion cum group discussion collectively exhibiting the ideas of combating the environmental challenges and achieving sustainability where all the participants actively participated and shared their notions. The conference was multi-disciplinary, set up in a manner of open discussions for all the participants and in concord with problems, abatement, mitigations and sustainable solutions. The themes of the technical as well as poster sessions were (i) Environmental Pollution and Management (Soil, Water, and Air), (ii) Biodiversity Conservation and Nature Resource Management, (iii) Ecosystem Goods and Services, (iv) Climate Change Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction, (v) Ecofriendly and Cleaner Bioprocesses, and (vi) Geoinformatics applications for Environment Management. Total eighteen awards were given to students and scholars in six different poster sessions with cash prize, certificate and memento. The winners represented from different institute and universities including IIT- Kharagpur, IIT-Delhi, IIT- ISM-Dhanbad, BIT Mesra, CSIR-NML, Jamshedpur, Tripura University, Ranchi University and CUJ, Ranchi. During the first day of the conference, Amit Kumar (Department of Land Resource Management, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi) welcomed the guests and delegates and Kavita Parmar (President, NATURE, Jamshedpur and SERB-YS, Department of Environmental Sciences, CUJ, Ranchi) had introduced the major themes of the conference and explained the background, and motive of the conference. She also discussed how we can work towards the sustainability during the inauguration of the conference. Dr. Neera Yadav, Honorable Minister, Human Resource Development, Govt. of Jharkhand was the chief guest of the inaugural ceremony and shared the dais with Dr. Shukla Mohanty, Vice Chancellor, Kolhan University, Chaibasa, Dr. Nitin Kulkarni, Director, IFP Ranchi, Prof. P.S. Roy, INSA Platinum Jubilee Fellow, System Analysis for Climate Smart Agriculture Innovation Systems for the Dry lands, ICRISAT, Hyderabad, Dr. Roma Yadav, Medical Practitioner, Bhagalpur and Prof. Nand Kumar Yadav (Indu), Vice Chancellor, Central University of Jharkhand who has preside the programme along with the chairmen of the conference Prof. Manoj Kumar (Dean, SNRM and Head DEVS, CUJ, Ranchi) and Prof. A.C. Pandey (Head DLRM, CUJ, Ranchi). The panel cum group discussion (Panelists: S.P.S. Kushwaha (chair), M.L. Khan, P.K. Khare, M.K. Jha, S. Nautiyal, M.D. Behera, and A.C. Pandey) was one of the most interactive session and point of attraction of the conference where all the participants, delegates, panelists exchanged their views regarding various alarming environmental issues and their sustainable solution and mitigation measures. Several presentations were made in the various technical (42 oral presentations) and poster (99 poster presentations) sessions, which aid in bringing up the major environmental challenges that the world is facing currently which include the issues like climate change, an emerging global crisis in water availability and water pollution, record loss of biodiversity and long-term damage to ecosystems, pollution of the atmosphere, waste production and disposal, impacts of chemicals use and toxic substance disposal, damaged aquatic ecosystems, deforestation and land degradation, carbon sequestration potential of forest trees, biopesticides etc. The sessions not only helped in understanding the growth scale and complexity of these environmental issues but also assisted in putting forward and fostering the sustainable solutions in order to combat the same. At last the valedictory functions were graced by the presence of Simon Oraon Minz, the Padmashri awardee and also known as waterman of Jharkhand as chief guests along with Subhanand Mukesh (Head, Environment Management Department, Tata Steel Limited, Jamshedpur) as guest of honour, S.L. Harikumar (Registrar, CUJ) and Prof. Nand Kumar Yadav, honourable VC, CUJ preside the event. Simon Oraon Minz discussed various challenges faced during his massive tree plantation drive as well as pond and well digging initiative to store rainwater to change the lives of thousands of villagers. Purabi Saikia (Department of Environmental Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi) summarized the conference and she discussed the needs of international conference to bring together the world’s leading scientists, academicians, researchers, industrialists and policy experts to exchange and share their experiences to explain the often-neglected debate on environmental and ecological issues and to discuss the most recent innovations, trends, concerns, practical challenges encountered and the solutions adopted. *A report on the International Conference on Environmental Challenges and Sustainability (ICECS 2018) organized by Department of Environmental Sciences and Department of Land Resource Management, School of Natural Resource Management, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi in collaboration with IUCN-CEM, South Asia, ISG-Ranchi Chapter, NATURE, Jamshedpur and ISTE, Varanasi during 31st October to 2nd November 2018. The conference was supported by the Tata Steel Limited, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Govt. of India, Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board, Department of Forest& Environment, Govt. of Jharkhand, NABARD, and IUCN-CEM South Asia. International Conference on Environmental Challenges and International Conference on Environmental Challenges and Sustainability (ICECS 2018) :Group photography Sustainability (ICECS 2018) : Technical session (Parallel) .