THE 33rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IUBS
“A Century of Unifying Biology”
The year 2019 marked the centenary of International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS). IUBS has had glorious 100 years: full of landmark contributions to research in biology at large and its application of science of biology for agriculture, medicine, conservation of biodiversity and for sustainable development.
On this special occasion, IUBS celebrated its Centenary Year with special sessions and talks on a number of topics that are main focus of IUBS in the 33rd General Assembly and the Scientific Sessions in Oslo, Norway on 30th July to 2nd August 2019.
Dr. Vivek Pandey, Senior Principal Scientist and Joint Secretary, ISEB was invited to attend 33rd IUBS General Assembly and IUBS Centenary Celebration held at Norwegian Academy of Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
On the opening day, Dr. Pandey gave a talk on Environmental education and climate change adaptation: science of pollution-tolerant and climate resilient plants.
ISEB and CSIR-NBRI had submitted a project entitled “Environmental education and climate change adaptation: Science of pollution tolerant and climate resilient plants” to IUBS (Triennium 2019-2022) for funding which was short listed for presentation. On the second day, Dr. Pandey gave the presentation of the project which was well taken and there were some suggestions to improve the project. The project has subsequently been approved.
The proposed project aims to offer new tools and methods for climate change education targeting the science and selection of climate and pollution resilient/smart plants. This directly addresses the objectives of IUBS which include study of impact of climate change on biological systems and to initiate and facilitate research, education and capacity-building across nations. As such, addressing climate change and air pollution issues will also contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The multinational project would contribute to SDG No. 13 i.e., “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” in nine countries viz., India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Mexico, USA, Germany, Spain and Finland spread over Asia, North America and Europe continents. The objectives of the proposed project conform to the ongoing and new initiatives of IUBS.
During his stay, Dr. Pandey had interactions with Prof Nils Chr. Stenseth of Norway, Prof K.J. Dietz of Germany, Dr. Nathalie Fomproix, Executive Director, IUBS and Prof L.S. Shashidhara, President, IUBS. Dr. Pandey also attended a civic reception hosted by IUBS at City Hall, Oslo where Noble Peace Prize is awarded each year.
