The 7th Symposium on EuroAsian Biodiversity, hosted by Erzurum Technical University (ETU), has started.

ETU Rector Prof. Dr. Bülent Çakmak, Ataturk University Rector Ahmet Hacımüftüoğlu, academicians from Turkey and different parts of the world and many students attended the opening program of the 7th symposium, which was organized with the aim of bringing together researchers working on biodiversity in Eurasia and around the world to share current scientific findings, establish multidisciplinary collaborations and seek innovative solutions to global environmental challenges.

Delivering the opening speech of the program held at the Faculty of Science Conference Hall, Prof. Dr. Ramazan Mammadov from the Azerbaijan Dendrology Institute expressed his satisfaction with the organization of the symposium in Erzurum: “Our aim is to direct young people to fields related to biodiversity and to encourage future generations to protect nature. We were very pleased that the symposium was attended not only from Eurasia but also from many parts of the world. I believe that the symposium, which we organized for the 7th time, will have very useful outputs. I would like to thank ETU for opening its doors to us and everyone who contributed to this process.”

After Prof. Dr. Mammadov, Rector Hacımüftüoğlu took the floor to make his speech and stated that the issue of biodiversity has become a very important issue: “The protection and sustainability of biodiversity is being talked about a lot. I am a faculty member of the Faculty of Medicine, a medical doctor and a pharmacologist. We share some of the studies and experimental techniques in this field. Therefore, I am not far from the subject personally. Atatürk University has a biodiversity museum. At the end of the program, you will visit our museum and see the work closely. Having such a museum in our university is an indication of the importance we attach to this issue. At the same time, the fact that ETU is hosting such a symposium also shows how much importance it attaches to this issue. I would like to express that this field is a very strategic field, it is very valuable for our country and we want to support all the work related to it. On this occasion, I would like to thank the academicians and all the participants who attended the symposium from our country and different countries.”

Speaking at the program, Rector Çakmak stated that ETU carries out many studies for the protection and maintenance of biodiversity in Turkey and the world: “We are very pleased to host more than 500 scientists from 27 different countries participating in the symposium in Erzurum together with Atatürk University. Biodiversity, which is the main source of approximately 40 percent of the world economy, is one of the most important raw materials of many sectors from agriculture to food, health to tourism, industry to energy. However, in the last century, due to population growth, industrialization, unplanned urbanization, environmental pollution and climate change, natural life has been damaged, destroyed and in need of protection. Today, most natural ecosystems have been transformed. Half of plant species have disappeared in the last century.A third of freshwater species are threatened with extinction. About 1 million species are at risk due to the destruction. Human beings are responsible for all this. The deterioration of this system directly affects all the balance and life forms on earth, especially human beings. Therefore, protecting, recording and sustaining our biodiversity is no longer a choice but a necessity. As ETU, we are making great efforts to protect these values and transfer them to future generations by saying “Biodiversity is our future” and we are implementing various projects. I would like to thank the organizing committee, our stakeholder institutions, participants and everyone who contributed to the realization of such an important symposium and wish the symposium to be beneficial for our world.”

Bioinformatics, biotechnology, microbial biodiversity, urban biodiversity, the effects of Green Energy Technologies on biodiversity, genetic resources, bioremediation and many other topics will be discussed by experts and academicians at the two-day symposium.

Corporate Communications and Promotion Directorate 22.08.2024