TİKA Supports Protection of Biodiversity in Pakistan

A Herbarium and Biodiversity Protection Laboratory was established by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) within the Climate Change Research Center at Mirpur University of Science and Technology in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Region of Pakistan.

A Herbarium and Biodiversity Conservation laboratory was opened within the University in order to update, record and protect the wild vegetation inventory in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir region, with the goal of making the inventory accessible to students and researchers by transferring it to digital media and detect the effects of climate change and propagate wild plants.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Health Minister, Nisar Ansar Abdali; Chancellor of Mirpur University of Science and Technology, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Younus Javed; Head of the Botany Department and students attended the opening ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Ansar stated that Türkiye and Pakistan have very deep relations and thanked TİKA for its support in developing these relations. Stating that the projects in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Region constitute concrete examples for the development of the region, Ansar underlined that the herbarium and laboratory established by TİKA, which conducts projects in various fields, is the first modern laboratory established in this field in the Kashmir Region.

The Chancellor of Mirpur University of Science and Technology, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Younus Javed also stated that the University, established in 2008, is the most important state university in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Region, and added that the university continues its activities at campuses in 3 different cities with more than 2000 students in 6 faculties and 37 departments. Thanking TİKA for the laboratory and herbarium established in the Botany Department of the University, the Chancellor stated that the University will also support awareness raising among the local people, and the laboratory will also provide the infrastructure for the botanical garden project.

The laboratory, which is established within the scope of the project implemented by TİKA, has been extremely important for the detection and protection of wild raw material resources. The laboratory, which will contribute to both herbarium studies and reducing the problems caused by climate change, will also add commercial value to plant production by supporting the detection of extinct plants and the propagation of medicinal herbs.