The Department of Environmental Sciences was established in 2012 to provide prospective students with extensive knowledge, understanding and skills to preserve, protect and rehabilitate the local and global environment and build a sustainable future. This aim is accomplished by training our students through both theoretical and practical learning approaches across a wide range of courses. We believe that offering quality education in environmental sciences will not only help attract the most talented students to this discipline but also produce resourceful environmental scientists with sound know-how to solve environmental problems. Together with education and research, the Department is also thriving to play a proactive role in the protection, preservation and restoration of the environment and sustainable development. The Department’s all-embracing goal is to achieve excellence in learning and research based on the quality of graduates and research scholars produced, production of quality research outputs, and services to the community and relevant agencies in addressing environmental challenges.

Mission
The Department’s mission is to become a leading institute in Environmental Sciences with high-quality education, scientific research and outreach services for sustainable environmental solutions.

Contact us

Department of Environmental Sciences,
Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Pakistan
Website: www.awkum.edu.pk
Email: environmentalscience@awkum.edu.pk
Phone: +92 (0937) 843369

Research

In the Department of Environmental Sciences, basic, problem-oriented and solution-driven research is undertaken in overarching themes in environmental sciences and technology, resource management and ecology and sustainability. Expertise in the Department ranges from environmental pollution and control, waste management, natural resource management, biotechnology and toxicology to climate change, environmental economics, environmental assessment and a range of other areas. We are in the process of establishing our environmental lab for physicochemical and biological analysis, and Geographic Information System to support our interdisciplinary research work.

Research areas/Groups

Water treatment and waste management – Biological wastewater treatment; suspended and attached growth systems; immobilization technology for wastewater treatment; natural wastewater treatment systems; drinking water treatment and corrosion scale characterization; nanotechnology for environmental remediation; solid and hazardous waste management.
Pollutants in the environment – Heavy metals bio-geochemistry and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem, Long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT) to Polar regions, 
Environmental sanitation and sustainability
Climate change and adaptation
Pollution monitoring and control – Contaminants in environmental media & remediation, Pollution control systems, environmental toxicology
Renewable Energy – Solid waste to energy, Agricultural waste to energy
Environmental impact assessment and management
Environmental policy research – Environmental governance, Institutional capacities and environment, valuing the environmental resources and amenities.

Facilities

Environmental laboratory having facilities for indoor research and all kind of physical, chemical and biological analysis is under establishment. A GIS lab with state-of-the-art equipment and the latest software is also planned to be setup. An up-to-date collection of books and related material has been instituted and available in the Central Library, Garden Campus.

Projects

Completed

Environmental Education at School Level in Mardan, funded by Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad in collaboration with Elementary & Secondary Education Department, Govt. of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Promotion of bio-briquetting for sustainable environmental protection in changing climate: A cost-effective source of fuel energy for underprivileged communities, funded by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan and implemented by Dr Shams Ali Baig.

Ongoing

Synthesis and application of magnetically recoverable biochar composite (MRBC) for enhanced arsenic removal from drinking water in the decentralized sustainable treatment system, funded by Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan and being implemented by Dr Shams Ali Baig.

Development of sustainability assessment checklist for managing community water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in Pakistan: Bridging the gaps between research, policy and action, funded by Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan and being implemented by Dr Shams Ali Baig.

Outreach services

University is an integral part of society. To contribute to the society, outreach services at the Department of Environmental Sciences play its role to disseminate knowledge and technologies transfer to society to promote environmentally sustainable development. For this purpose, strong partnerships with all the stakeholders were established and MoUs were signed with different national and international organizations and government line departments. The MoUs were aimed at establishing collaboration and partnership for environmental protection, community outreach and academic research. In this connection, MoUs have been signed with Hanns Seidel Foundation Pakistan, Elementary & Secondary Education Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, WatSan Cell (Government of KP), UET Peshawar, WSSCM Mardan and Islamic Relief Pakistan so far and there are also plans to establish collaboration with other partners to contribute in research and innovations. The introduction of climate change education at school level in Mardan and promotion of bio-briquetting technology in rural Mardan for agro-wastes reutilization are some of the examples of the Department’s outreach services.

AWKUM Environmental Sciences Alumni Network (AESAN)