Sino-German Joint Research Center for the Management of Ecosystems and Environmental Changes in Arid Lands (MEECAL)

    Inaugurated on January 16, 2013, the Sino-German Joint Research Center for the Management of Ecosystems and Environmental Changes in Arid Lands (MEECAL) is led by Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) under Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Munich Technical University on the Chinese and Germany sides respectively. It has joined hands with multiple Chinese and German teaching and research institutions, such as Technical University of Berlin, Goethe University Frankfurt, Heidelberg University, Free University of Berlin, University of Trier, Institute of Atmospheric Physics under CAS, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing Normal University, Nanjing Normal University, Yantai University, Xinjiang University, Xinjiang Normal University, etc..

    The MEECAL aims to establish a long-term cooperation mechanism between China and Germany in the fields of ecosystems and socio-economic development in arid areas, including the evolution of ecological environment, global climate change and the impact of human activities, carry out joint scientific research in arid lands around the globe, jointly plan project application, regularly hold international and bilateral academic seminars, exchange postgraduates for academic visits, and subsidize visiting scholars for short-term study, etc.

Chinese contact: Wang Qian and Yu Yang

Contact information: wangqian@ms.xjb.ac.cn