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A seminar titled Planetary Health, Bangladesh and Geoinformatics was organised by the Institute of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) at Jahangirnagar University (JU) yesterday.
The seminar was held at the Senate Hall of the University, where Dr Byomkesh Talukder, Research Fellow of Planetary Health of Dandaleh Institute for Global Health Research of the York University of Canada, was present as the keynote speaker.
The importance of environmental management in dealing with global climate change, the role of geoinformatics and data-driven policy making to combat the crisis and calamities was addressed in his presentation.
Dr Talukder highlighted the implementation of the planetary diet, food security, outdated food preservation technology and naturally diverse diet in his lecture.
Presenting the situation in Bangladesh, he further remarked that the sea level of Bangladesh is increasing by 1 to 1.5 meters yearly. Due to natural calamities like hurricanes, saline water enters the coast. High salinity is also affecting abortion rates and sexual health. Children suffer from malnutrition, and cancer rates are on the rise.
As the discussant of the seminar, Professor Dr Md. Tajuddin Sikder of the Department of Public Health and Informatics said, "The quality of life has been ensured after the industrial revolution. In the 18th century, the world's population was 1 billion, but by 1950, it had tripled. After the revolution in medical care in 1960, the population increased to 6 billion in this century. We need to focus on planetary health to stay healthy."
The director of the Institute, Professor Dr Sheikh Tawhidul Islam, moderated the seminar. He said, Academicians identify the existing gaps and propose effective solutions. There is no substitute for research to get a global perspective and take action. The Institute of Remote Sensing can contribute by generating and processing data, transforming it into information. Policy changes should be made from that data and used for society's welfare. If we cannot take information-based decisions, our problems will remain unsolved.
The maiden seminar was held under the Public Lecture series on Geospatial Science for Environmental Management and Resilient Lives, organised by the Institute. The teachers and students of the institute were present online and in person at the seminar