Organized by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) and Monbukagakhusho-MEXT Alumni Association of Pakistan (MAAP), and supported by the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO), a hybrid workshop on “Ecosystem Restoration: One-Health and Pandemics” was held in Islamabad on June 5th 2022 to celebrate the World Environment Day. The workshop was celebrated with more than 150 participants from different walks of life. Prof. Ailikun, Assistant Executive Director of the ANSO Secretariat, attended the workshop and introduced the mission and mandate of ANSO and the programs/projects it conducts.

The event was honored by the online presence of Prof. Khalid Mahmood Khan, President of Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS), who highlighted the challenges and loopholes in managing current pandemic and advocated the need for strong collaboration among the scientific community and state institutions. The Secretary-General, PAS, Prof. Tasawar Hayat welcomed the distinguished guests and explained that ecological restoration is a clear and measurable strategy to address the global disease burden and enhance public health. He also expressed gratitude to ANSO for financial support under the ANSO International Collaborative Research program. Prof. Zabta Khan Shinwari, (Prof Emeritus at QAU, President MAAP, and fellow of PAS) briefed about the seminar program and discussed that natural ecosystem restoration could provide paths for reversing some of the effects of climate change and easing the global disease burden. 

Dr. Muhammad Ali, Principal investigator of the ANSO collaborative research project entitled Molecular detection and characterization of bat-borne viruses from Pakistan (ANSO-CR-PP-2021-05) gave a brief talk on “Bats viruses and Pandemics”. He pointed out that bats are one of the most diverse mammalian orders, containing estimated 20% of all mammal species. He overviewed global ongoing research on bat viromes and discussed current challenges. In concluding remarks, he emphasized the need for close and apolitical collaborations among scientists in combating pandemics.

Dr. Muhammad Ali, Principal investigator of the ANSO Project entitled “Molecular Detection and Characterization of Bat-borne Viruses from Pakistan” (ANSO-CR-PP-2021-05)

Other invited speakers also presented their work and ideas on ecological restoration,  including Dr. Nancy Connell (National Academy of Sciences, USA), Dr. David Franz (National Academy of Sciences, USA), Dr. Tim Trevan (Co-Founder of Chrome Biorisk Management Consulting, Maryland), Prof. Dr. Li Cui (Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Dr. Shahbaz Khan (UNESCO- Beijing), Prof. Lijun Shang (London Metropolitan University, UK), Dr. Qadeer Ahsan (Executive Director of Fleming Fund), Dr. Quaid Saeed (CEO Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority), and Dr. Niryoshi Shinomiya (President, National Defense Medical College, Japan).

The seminar was concluded by H. E. Ryuji Iwasky, Representative of the Japanese Embassy in Islamabad with a take-home message on the importance of environmental preservation and how it is essential for us. He emphasized that it’s a collective responsibility of all different government and non-government organizations to address the challenges through the engagement of society and the research community along with the introduction of new policies to mitigate these threats for the future generation.

This workshop aims to provide a forum for an active and healthy debate, and the conceptual frameworks based on existing ecological crises. One-health approach can be a very effective technique to deal with the catastrophic results of a human-environment imbalance, as well as lethal disease outbreaks/pandemics that arise from the critical nexus of humans, animals, ecosystems and climate change.

Source: Dr. Muhammad Ali, Member, Pakistan Academy of Sciences