Islamabad:February 16:The winning students of the World Wetlands Day event titled ‘Wetland Tourism: A Great Experience’ were given prizes at its concluding ceremony organised by the Pakistan Wetlands Programmes at the Islamabad College for Girls, F-6/2, on Wednesday.

The activities of the event began on February 2. The chief guest of the concluding ceremony was Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Secretary Imtiaz Inayat Ellahi. This year, the theme of the mega event was ‘Wetland and Tourism’. The event created a sense of awareness about the role tourism plays in environment. Wetland tourism has benefits both locally and nationally for people and wildlife — benefits such as stronger economies, sustainable livelihoods, healthy people and thriving ecosystems — an ideal time to start thinking about the precious source.

Speaking on the occasion, Imtiaz Inayat Ellahi said that earlier in the master plan of Islamabad there was hardly anything significant about environmental conservation. “The capital was given the slogan of ‘Islamabad, the beautiful’, but we changed it to ‘Islamabad, the green city’ keeping in mind our provisions for greenbelts and extensive plantation in the city. Measures are being taken to make greenbelts and making good landscapes and cleaning ‘nullahs’ so that water can be harvested.

He said: “Right from the beginning, students have supported us in every project we took up and creating awareness among masses. Shortly, we are planning to inculcate good civic habits in government schools so that children also learn about their responsibility towards a cleaner society. Islamabad is a model city so each and every project initiated here should be of international standards. We will leave no stone unturned to make it a cleaner and a greener city. In this regard, our young generation can play a pivotal role,” he added.

On the occasion, the theme song was presented by Zainab and Tahir Naeem. Its lyrics were written by Nasir Malik. Different schools presented dramas and tableaux that highlighted environmental issues being faced by the country and how city’s environment could be improved.

Imtiaz Iyayat Ellahi appreciated students for having extensive knowledge and awareness regarding environmental conservation and efforts to keep the city clean. He specially mentioned the Roots School System among private academic institutions which has made efforts in this regard and also received the award for ‘Maximum Participation’ in the event.

Students also conveyed their thoughts on canvas to highlight the importance of wetlands. Some of them expressed their ideas in the form of story, poetry and others in the form of drawing and painting. They forced all stakeholders to think about the impact of human activities on environment. They focused on the optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural resources and biodiversity.

About 4,000 students from 100 public and private schools participated in the event celebrated earlier this month. A range of activities were organised to enable students to express their views on the subject through art, debate, play and poetry competitions, among other activities. The participants conveyed messages through their talent, in the form of story, poetry and artwork. Every participant was exceptional in expressing his or her thoughts.

The winning students were awarded with gifts and souvenirs in the end.The news.