Identification of terrestrial gastropods families found in district Swat, Pakistan

Very little is known about the malacofauna in district Swat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, situated in the Northern part of Pakistan. The Swat valley possesses a variety of suitable environmental conditions, providing different types of habitats for both flora and fauna. Taken into consideration these points, the present study was conducted to explore the terrestrial snails diversity in agricultural and non-agricultural fields in the lower Swat valley. A total of 417 shells were collected from three sites: Kokarai, Kanju Township, and Deolai. Based on conchological features, three families: Bradybaenidae, Hygromiidae, and Zonitidae were identified using different terrestrial snail keys. In Kokarai and Deolai, shells of members of all the above-mentioned families were found from agricultural fields. In Kanju Township, shells of members of the family Bradybaenidae and Zonitidae were found. From these findings, it was concluded that district Swat possesses a significant malacofauna which was unexplored before and aided more to the existing literature on malacofauna. It also supports the idea that the agroecosystem is rich in species diversity. Further in-depth and extensive study is recommended to be carried out for a detailed taxonomy of the described terrestrial gastropod families.

Literature as a Source of Ecological Sustainability with reference to Feminist Writings

Eco Feminist Literature has successfully addressed many ecological and environmental concerns in relation to the exploitation of women in various forms. It has been long that the relationship between the ecology and literature is established with the wide range of literary works having its base on environment and its issues. Women Autobiographies are a form of literature that are used by women writers to express their feelings of themselves in the forms of Memoirs .In certain cases people living in certain geographical regions are captivated by their staunch religious practices which plays an adverse role in preserving the ecological balance. Therefore this paper is an attempt to portray the extremism that exists in the Swat valley and how women autobiographies can contribute to the maintaining the eco system.

Vehicle Traffic as a Source of CO2, CO, HC and Particulate Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon in the Mingora City, District Swat, KP, Pakistan and Their Effect on Health, Temperature and Tourism

In this work we collected a large number of vehicular emission data of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) from custom paid and non-custom paid vehicles in the Swat district, which are responsible for changing the climate and global warming. Swat valley is facing severe threats and impacts of the climate change as there is a record high increase in the temperature with flash floods and droughts becoming increasingly common. The main cause of the increasing warm weather is vehicle emissions along with the cutting of forest on a large scale in the valley. Hospital records for 2768 children aged 0 to 18 years (697 of whom had two encounters) were obtained for a main city area of two hospitals in Saidu Sharif, Swat. Residential addresses were geocoded. A line source dispersion model was used to estimate individual seasonal exposures to local traffic-generated pollutants (nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and hydroxide).

First record of the hoverfly genus Spilomyia Meigen (Diptera: Syrphidae) for Pakistan

The genus Spilomyia Meigen, 1803 along with Spilomyia manicata (Rondani, 1865) are recorded for the first time from Swat valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The diagnostic characters with photographs and distribution map of this rarely known species from Pakistan and its neighboring countries are provided.

De-radicalization: A Case Study of Swat Valley; Its Progress, Challenges

This research analyzes the de-radicalization process of swat, its progress, and challenges inthe years 2008 to 2018. Previously Swat was fallen in the hand of terrorists and it had facedextremism and terrorism. Religious intolerance and economic issues led it to the next level of conflict.Pakistan Army initiated operations against terrorists while on the other hand, they converted the terrorist’sheadquarters into centers for the de-radicalization program. This study primarily explored the de-radicalization progress of swat and find that the Army de-radicalized the terrorists through a systematicprogram that included rehabilitation, religious counseling, vocational training, reintegration into the society,and later on their monitoring were the main features of the program. The study also analyzed the possibleefforts that can be put together in making a conducive working environment in Swat. This study alsohighlights the need for more de-radicalization programs in Pakistan targeting different ethnic, racist,religious radicalization. This study also discusses the efforts of the National action plan and Paigham-e-Pakistan in the light of de-radicalization and its effectiveness in the long run. This research also suggeststhat the government and private sector with combined efforts can bring more diversity and effectivenesssin de-radicalization programs.

LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES APPLIED TO A BUDDHIST CARVED ROCK SCULPTURE

The Swat valley (Pakistan) has always been considered an important center of Gandhara art. Due to the unfavourable conditions, this artistic phenomenon has long been almost ignored or underestimated, but its documentation is essential for study the symbolism of the figures, their spatial organization, their stylistic variation and their conservative state. The methodology proposed in this project starts form the 3D acquisition with a structured light system in order to obtain a 3D high resolution model of Buddhist carved rock sculpture. From the 3D geometry, The Digital Elevation Model is produced. This DEM is the starting points for the surface analysis using Remote Sensing approaches for classify landforms using pattern recognition. The surface is considered as a landscape, where carved are valleys bordered by slopes and crests. Hillshading, slope analysis and geomorphons are used in order to highlight the surface feature, to “read” all the details not visible due to the bad condition and to map surface state of conservation.