Landscaping with appropriate planning by expert architects needs to be given due importance while establishing new cities or making expansion of the existing ones. These can also provide befitting solutions to the challenges of global warming and climate change. Experts have expressed such views while participating in a webinar on ‘Urban landscaping from environmental perspective’ organised under the auspices of the Orissa Environmental Society (OES).
OES president Dr Sundara Narayana Patro presided over the programme, while Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Prof Sashikala Beura graced the seminar as the chief speaker.
Prof Beura stated that in the present scenario, landscaping of urban areas is of immense signicance that will not only create attractive, pollution-free environments, but will also add some naturalness to the concrete jungles in cities. The greenery and the beauty of colourful flowers in the avenues and public parks will be the source of recreation and relief from mental stress. Besides, landscaping will have ecological, social, economic and aesthetic values, he said.
Dr Patro in his presidential remarks emphasised on undertaking of plantation of the IUCN identified threatened plant species of the State in urban areas so as to ensure their conservation and take out their names from the red list.
At the beginning, OES secretary Dr Jaya Krushna Panigrahi in his welcome address stated that cities and mega-cities are turning out to be concentration centres of human population, but their environmental quality and livability are not given due importance Vice president Dr
Lala AK Singh introduced the guests to the audience.
Among others, Jeeban Mahapatra, Dr Bijay Ketan Patnaik, Dr Rajendra Subudhi, Prof Jayant Kumar Routray, Prof PN Jagadev and Prof BS Patro spoke.
Joint secretary Er Manoranjan Mishra offered vote of thanks. Many environmentalists, academics and nature-lovers attended.