Report WEBINAR on CARE TO BIODIVERSITY On the occasion of World Environment Day-5th June, 2020 Venue: Youtube & Facebook Organised by: ENVIS RP on Environmental Biotechnology, University of Kalyani Under the aegis of University of Kalyani ("A" Grade Accredited by NAAC) West Bengal, India Sponsored by: MoEF & CC, Govt. of India Webinar Brochure was widely circulated through DESKU- ENVIS website, facebook page, Whatsapp groups and E.mails 2 Content Sl. Particulars Page No No 1 Aim of the programme 4 2 Welcome Address by Prof. (Dr.) Ashis K Panigrahi, 7 Coordinator, ENVIS RP, KU. 3 Inaugural Address: Prof. (Dr.) Sankar Kumar Ghosh, 10 Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, KU. 4 List of Resource Persons 13 5 Participants details 14 6 Feedback of Participants 17 7 Invited speakers 22 8 Vote of Thanks 32 9 Photo Gallery 34 10 Annexure (List of Participants) 40 3 Invitation Aim of the Webinar Webinars are events held 100% online. This enables you to reach a large and specific audience. Members of the target group participate live via a PC, Mac, tablet or smartphone, wherever they are. And if they are unable to join the webinar live, they can watch the recorded broadcast afterwards instead. This webinar is organised in the framework of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Seven months into the discovery of the COVID- 19 virus in Wuhan, almost half of humanity is under lockdown. Thousands of events were cancelled worldwide due to the Corona virus and in a COVID-ridden world; gatherings of any kind can be very dangerous for all parties. The epitome of convenience, a webinar is one of the easiest ways to participate in an official discussion or a productive session. The Web seminar on Care to Biodiversity was organized on the occasion of World Environment Day. As this year the Environment day theme is Biodiversity. From this web seminar we enriched about the biological diversity of plants and animals and its environmental aspects. The biodiversity is decreasing day by day due to various reasons. If it does not stop then our earth could no longer be a place to live in. Therefore different 4 measures help in increasing the biodiversity of the earth. Biodiversity in flora and fauna is the need of the hour. Therefore we should take various countermeasures to stop the reduction of endangering of species. Furthermore, pollution from vehicles should decrease. So that animals can get fresh air to breathe. Moreover, it will also decrease global warming which is the major cause of the extinction of the species. Biodiversity is an issue that affects everyone and therefore everyone should be aware of their effect on biodiversity. The continuous decreasing of the biodiversity will be threats to the future human survival. Therefore, we should care to the Biodiversity. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the DESKU ENVIS Resource Partner on Environmental Biotechnology, University of Kalyani, Supported by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC), Govt. of India, New Delhi, was organized the WEBINAR on CARE to BIODIVERSITY on the occasion of World Environment Day, 5th June,2020 at 11.30 am-1.30 pm. Inauguration of the Webinar The Webinar on Care to Biodiversity was inaugurated on the occasion of World Environment Day, 5th June, 2020 at 11.30 A.M. by our Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, University of Kalyani Prof. Sankar Kumar Ghosh, and other distinguished dignitaries. Prof. Ashis Kumar Panigrahi, Coordinator ENVIS Centre, Head, Dept. of Zoology, Dr. A.K. Sanyal, Chairman, West Bengal Biodiversity Board, Dr. Dr. Anant Pande, Scientist Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun Uttarakhand, India, Dr. Neera Sen Sarkar, Dept. of Botany, K.U, Dr. Punarbasu Chaudhuri, Dept. of Environmental Science, University of Calcutta and Dr. Shubhransu Nayak, Odisha Biodiversity Board. On the occasion of the World Environmant Day, 5th June, 2020 keeping the view of the worlds present situation Hon’ble Vice Chancellor released ENVIS news letter on Biotechnological and Environmental Aspects of COVID-19 (ISSN:09742476, Vol-36, 1) 5 Released of ENVIS news letter ENVIS news letter on Biotechnological and Environmental Aspects of COVID-19 (ISSN: 09742476, Vol-36, 1) 6 Welcome Address From the Desk of: Coordinator, DESKU ENVIS RP on Environmental Biotechnology, University of Kalyani It is my great pleasure to welcome the experts and participants of WEBINAR on CARE to BIODIVERSITY. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the DESKU ENVIS Resource Partner on Environmental Biotechnology, University of Kalyani, Supported by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC), Govt. of India, New Delhi, is organizing this Webinar on the occasion of World Environment Day 2020. At the outset, of this webinar as Coordinator of ENVIS Resource Partner, I would like to express our warmest gratitude, on behalf of ENVIS Resource Partner, to our Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Dr.) Sankar Kumar Ghosh, University of Kalyani and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC), Government of India, New Delhi. ENVIS RP on “Environmental Biotechnology” University of Kalyani, was established in June, 2002 and it is running under the leadership of our honourable Vice Chancellor, Prof. Shankar Kr. Ghosh. I am trying my level best with my ENVIS team to work sincerely with 7 its objectives to collect primary as well as secondary data on bio-technology, biodegradation, management of natural resources as well as hazardous waste management to combat environmental pollution. To spread awareness among the people, the centre is also continuously publishing different Newsletters based on current environmental issues, Case studies, Special Books, Mobile Apps, Leaflets, Abstract Volumes, Knowledge-based product CDs, Videos etc. on different programmes. Further, we regularly celebrate Special days i.e. Environmental day, Aranya Saptaha, Wetland day, Yoga day, Ozone day, Swachh Bharat etc. to create awareness among the people on different current environmental issues. Recently this year new initiative has been taken by our centre as per the instruction of MoEF&CC for preparation of Environmental District wise GIS based grid map of West Bengal. Further, the Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP) in various topics were started by our centre from 2018. The Green skills contribute to preserve or restore environmental quality for sustainable future including job creation to protect ecosystems and biodiversity, and minimizing waste through recycling. World Environment Day is held each year on June 5. It is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations (UN) stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. This year the theme of World Environment Day 2020 is “Celebrate Biodiversity”. “With 1 million species facing extinction, there has never been a more important time to focus on biodiversity.” World Environment Day can be celebrated in many ways; activities such as campaign clarification, sensitizing the locals about the growing environmental conditions and suggesting ways to prevent them, organizing plays, quizzes, tree plantations, lectures and kids poster competition, etc. are quite popular. Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is the scientific term for the variety of life on Earth. It refers not just to species but also to ecosystems and differences in genes within a single species. Everywhere on the planet, species live together and depend on one another. Every living thing, including man, is involved in these complex networks of interdependent relationships, which are called ecosystems. Biodiversity is the key indicator of the health of an ecosystem. A wide variety of species will cope better with threats than a limited number of them in large populations. Even if certain species are affected by pollution, climate change or human activities, the ecosystem as a whole may adapt and survive. But the extinction of a species may have unforeseen impacts, sometimes snowballing into the destruction of entire ecosystems. 8 The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis that affects everyone. With the COVID-19 pandemic causing the death of lakhs of people and forcing economic and social lockdowns across nations. All countries need to act in concert with each other to succeed in order to protect not just the planet, but ourselves, our economies and everything. The COVID19 crisis has deep roots in how we interact with, manage, and conserve biodiversity. The emergence of COVID-19 has underscored the mutually-affective relationship between people and nature. Now, we must try to understand and appreciate the limits to which humans can push nature, before the impact is negative. So, this webinar is very much relevant to our ENVIS RP as the main objective of this seminar is based on biodiversity. Last but not the least, I can say this webinar is very much appropriate with present day need. Galaxy of national/ international scientists will deliver the web lecture relevant to this topic in this webinar and no doubt some suitable recommendations will come out which help to conserve the biodiversity to save our mother earth. The participants must enriched by the seminar. Lastly, I wish the webinar a grand success. Thanking you all Prof. (Dr.) Ashis Kumar Panigrahi Coordinator ENVIS RP on Environmental Biotechnology University of Kalyani, Kalyani Nadia, West Bengal 9 Inauguration From the Desk of: Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Dr.) Sankar Kumar Ghosh, University of Kalyani Distinguished resource persons and my dear participants, Good Morning to all. It is a great pleasure for me to address you in the inaugural session of the web seminar as the head of the institute like Kalyani University. I am very pleased to be here today for the opening of this Webinar on CARE to BIODIVERSITY on the occasion of World Environment Day 2020. The ENVIS Resource Partner on Environmental Biotechnology, University of Kalyani, Supported by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC), Govt. of India, New Delhi, is organizing this Webinar in the recent world crisis situation.