The Rubber Research Institute of India and the International Rubber Research and Development Board (IRRDB) will jointly organise a three-day international workshop on ‘Climate Change and Natural Rubber Cultivation: Research and Development Priorities’ at the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII), Kottayam on 28 July 2010 at 9 AM.
The function will be inaugurated by Mr. Sajen Peter, Chairman, Rubber Board. Dr. Abdul Aziz, Secretary General, IRRDB will preside over the inaugural function. After the inaugural session, Prof. J. Sreenivasan (Indian Institute of Science, Banagalore) will deliver the keynote address on the subject: “Why we should worry about climate change”
Later, Dr. Stephen V. Evans, Secretary General, International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) will deliver a special talk on Demand and Supply Relations in a Changing Climate. Dr. James Jacob, Director, RRII and Vice Chairman of the IRRDB will welcome the gathering, and Dr. R. Krishna Kumar, Joint Director, RRII and IRRDB Liaison Officer for physiology group will propose the vote of thanks.
The IRRDB is an international organization for natural rubber research, with its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The workshop is being conceived with the objectives to review how far climate has changed in the major natural rubber producing countries of the world, to examine how far climate change has impacted growth and productivity of rubber, to assess future climate scenarios in natural rubber growing countries, to evolve research strategies for rubber cultivation in stressful environments, to evaluate the carbon dioxide sequestration potential of natural rubber holdings in different countries and to evaluate innovations in rubber processing and manufacturing industries for energy efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emission to mitigate climate changes.
Thirty-one scientific papers will be presented in the workshop by experts in the areas of physiology, agronomy, molecular biology, biotechnology, breeding, pathology, climatology, extension and planning. Dr. Abdul Aziz (Secretary General, IRRDB), Dr. Stephen V. Evans (Secretary General, IRSG), Dr. M. R. Sethuraj (Former Director, RRII), Dr. N. M. Mathew (Former Director, RRII) and Dr. K. Jayarathnam
(Former Project Director) will moderate the discussions.
