1st International Conference on Biodiversity of Arid Zone (ICBAZ-2023)

About Us

Sindh Agriculture University sub-campus Umerkot is holding the 1st International Conference on Biodiversity of Arid Zone (ICBAZ-2023) from 07-08 March 2023 at District Umerkot, Pakistan. The conference will bring together global experts from research, academia, industry, Food processing startups, policymakers, and NGOs to unite new and innovative advances and scientific innovation to capitalize on the opportunities while addressing the challenges fundamental in the Arid Zone. Sindh is the South Eastern Province of Pakistan, the Sindh Arid Zone comprises of the Kohistan and the Eastern desert of Thar, spread over 68,000 sq. Kms. This Arid and Semi-arid region is situated mainly in the Tharparkar district, popularly called Thar Desert located in the southern part of province; it is bounded to the south-west by Badin district, to the north-west by Mirpurkhas and Umarkot districts.

Conference Themes

Abstracts from Information and communication technology, gender studies, climate change to be considered as cross cutting themes and placed accordingly in relevant sessions.
A- Ecosystem of Arid Zone
- Current scenario of arid zone ecosystem
- Medicinal, cosmetics, industrial and economically important plants of Arid zone (Production and utilization)
- Mechanisms of desertification and prevention methods
B- Camel A-ship of desert
- Dhati and other breeds
- Marketing / Commercialization of camel milk
- Production and management
- Grazing and feeding
C- Hakra river Ecosystem
- hallenges and way forward
- History
- Flows and tributaries
- Culture
- Heritage
D- Diversity of Avian
- Peacock, Poultry, Partridge and other birds
E- Organic Agriculture and Value Added Food Production
- Eradicate hunger and prevent malnutrition in Arid Zone
- Improve sustainable food system by production to consumption
- Enhancement profile of nutrition action plan and programs (mushroom & organic food production)
- Strategies of organic farming in arid zone
- Kitchen gardening
- Eco-friendly Agricultural practices
F- F- Climate Resilient Crops and Livestock Production for Food Security
- Water desalination and waste-water irrigation
- Drought resistant crop varieties
- Impact of drought on farming and conservation practices
- Crop production with saline water
- Dry land management / Rainfed Agriculture
- Climate extremes (drought, flood)
- Climate Resilient Production of Agriculture and Livestock
- Precision Agriculture
- Agriculture transformation models for desert area of Pakistan
- Future of bio-saline agriculture in Thar desert
- Agro-pastoralism in the Thar
- Innovation and technology for crop production
- Role of women in Agriculture and Livestock
G- Plant, Weed, Pest and Disease Diversity in arid zone
- Plant stress biology (biotic and abiotic stresses, advanced prevention techniques)
- Invasive weeds of dryland agroecosystems
- Biorationals and Pest Control
- Natural pest invasion control
- Mycotoxins and food safety
- Biopesticides/Microbial/Natural pesticides
- Invasive plant species; threats and management
- Locust control

Conference Proceedings

The submitted conference papers will be blind peer reviewed by the two potential reviewers related to field. The abstract of the accepted paper will be published in conference abstract book.

What is Our Goal?

The livelihood and food base of people of Tharparkar depends largely on grazing animals and partially on subsistent agriculture. Agriculture is mainly dependent on monsoonal rains which are erratic and variable in quantity and to a very little extent, sweet groundwater is available at very few places. The COVID-19 pandemic has exaggerated the challenges intrinsic in these regions and has interrupted global efforts to accomplish the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which predicts addressing food and agriculture security, livelihoods and the management of natural resources among other SDGs. This urgent situation calls for sustainable efforts to transform Arid Zone Agriculture through new frameworks of cooperation, partnerships and innovations.

Call for Contributions

The organizing committee of ICBAZ-2023 request the perspective academician, researchers, scientists, and industry personal for gracious contribution to the conference through submissions of their potential research in the form of abstracts, full-length papers and posters related to all the discipline of arid-zone biodiversity for presentation. The ICBAZ-2023 solicits contributions that address the conference themes, including figures, tables and references of novel research materials. The abstracts and papers will be reviewed by the technical conference committee, and corresponding author will be communicated for the acceptance of oral or poster presentation.

Keynote speakers
- Prof. Dr. Yuan Youlu (China)
- Prof. Dr. Wenyu Yang (China)
- Dr. Richard Odongo Magwanga (Kenya)
- Dr. Muhammad Asif Iqbal (China)

Conference tour
- Camel show
- Local games
- Culture
- Conference Mega-Dinner
- Traditional Music