1、China to offer technological support for Africa’s anti-desertification project
BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- China has approved a project to offer technological support for the construction of Africa's Great Green Wall, the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences said on Tuesday.
Proposed by the African Union in 2007, Africa's Great Green Wall initiative aims to reverse desertification spreading drought, famine, and poverty through the Sahel region.
According to Lei Jiaqiang, director of the XIEG, China will cooperate with Mauritania, Nigeria and Ethiopia, amongst other African countries, to systematically diagnose desertification and the technical needs in the region.
The project will bring China's desertification prevention and control technologies, materials, and products to Africa, and conduct environmental adaptability assessments.
It will also include personnel training and capacity building on anti-desertification measures in African countries. Some Chinese enterprises dealing with prevention and control of desertification will also participate in the project.
"We hope to bring China's wisdom in anti-desertification to Africa and help enhance the capability of desertification prevention in African countries along the Great Green Wall," Lei said.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/2018-08/30/c_137431482.htm
2、Sino-Pakistan Karakorum glacier basin field investigation successfully completed
A joint field investigation by China and Pakistan in the glacier basin of Karakorum regions was successfully completed on June 30.
Scientists from Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Climate Center of China and Pakistan Meteorological Department investigated ice and snow automatic monitoring facilities in the Chitral River basin and collected data there.
The facilities were donated by XIEG this January to the Pakistan Meteorological Department to help boost their glacier runoff monitoring ability.
They also investigated the Pakistani glacier runoff observatory stations in the Barot valley and the Passu Glacier during the five-day investigation.
Chinese researchers provided hydrological model training for Pakistan young researchers after the investigation.
The two sides agreed, during the following two-day discussion, to deepen cooperation both on exchange of young researchers and publication of joint research results. More collaborated researches on mountainous watershed runoff components are expected.
3、China helps Tajikistan tackle grassland degradation
BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists will help Tajikistan investigate the grassland degradation of its alpine pastures in August.
Researchers from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences worked with counterparts in Tajikistan this spring to investigate grassland degradation in southern, northern and eastern regions.
They traveled about 1,200 kilometers to study and collect samples of vegetation, soil and microorganisms. They also investigated livestock farming methods and surveyed local families.
Li Yaoming, of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, said Tajikistan had suffered serious grassland degradation in recent years as a result of population growth, a warmer climate, melting glaciers, frequent extreme weather events and overgrazing.
The number of cattle there jumped from one million in the 1990s to six million in 2010.
Chinese researchers will also investigate grassland issues in central Asian countries such as Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and offer solutions to problems.
They will introduce technologies and management methods that have proved effective in China to help the construction of a "green Silk Road," said Li.
4、China helps Kyrgyzstan with drinking water safety research
URUMQI, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have helped their counterparts in Kyrgyzstan finish an initial assessment of drinking water pollution in the Central Asian country.
The study is part of an ongoing joint program aimed at addressing grave safety concerns about drinking water in Kyrgyzstan.
Researchers completed the tests of 184 samples collected from over 20 major rivers, said Li Yaoming with the research institute of ecology and environment of Central Asia under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
In addition to the water quality assessment, researchers will work to improve water supply networks and promote water purification technology.
With an abundance of snow-covered peaks and glaciers, Kyrgyzstan is called the "water tower" of Central Asia. However, the country's water quality in many places fails to meet drinking standards, Li said.
Its urban water supply networks are outdated, while rural areas lack such facilities. Rural residents fetch water from rivers, some contaminated by mining waste, and shallow wells. This water has excess levels of heavy metals, organic matter or microorganisms.
Kyrgyzstan lacks capacity and funding for research in the field, Li said.
Researchers will advise the government on solutions to water pollution, use of rainwater, waste water treatment and recycling, and will help train professionals in these areas.
In Kyrgyzstan, CAS has also taken part in joint studies of soil, lakes, farm produce and mines.
China has advanced scientific and technological cooperation with countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/30/c_136936692.htm
5、Joint Research Center on Natural Resources and Environment
in East Africa Put into Full Operation
The Joint Research Center on Natural Resources and Environment in East Africa was put into full operation in Kigali, Rwanda on Oct. 24, with a batch of equipment donated from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK) installed and enabled in the lab of the Center.
The Center, jointly built by Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and UNILAK last year, was a fruit of the cooperation between the two sides.
Cooperation between XIEG and UNILAK dates back to 2011. The two sides signed a memorandum of cooperation the following year. The last six years have seen continuous personnel exchange, talent cultivation, technical training workshops, as well as academic conferences.
UNILAK began to open Master courses on “Environment and Development Research” with the help of XIEG. Steady cooperation between the two sides eventually led to the founding of The Joint Research Center on Natural Resources and Environment in East Africa.
XIEG donated 42 pieces of equipment this time, to be applied in three labs of the Center on water environment, soil environment, and geographic information system, according to LEI Jiaqiang, director of XIEG.
6、CAS Strives for Helping Central Asia’s Rural Area for Clean Water
Water sustains almost all known life forms on the earth. For human beings, safe clean water is essential though men obtain no calories or organic nutrients from water. This makes safe and clean drinking water focus of attention across the world, especially in the Central Asia where fresh water is inadequate.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is now extend its helping hand to people in the Central Asia to get access to safe clean drinking water, those living in the rural areas in particular.
A team of scientists from the CAS Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia docked with the water supply department of the Kyrgyz Republic last week for further cooperation details on drinking water treatment project in the country’s rural areas.
This is a project initiated early last year. Water quality sampling and assay determination on the country’s surface water have been completed, with the cooperation of the Kyrgyz National Bureau of Hydrology and Meteorology.
“Site selection is now underway for the installation and application of the drinking water treatment facilities,” said LI Yaoming, director of the CAS Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia (Bishkek).
Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface area. However, only 2.5% is freshwater with less than 0.3% in rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere. Much of the surface fresh water and ground water is unsuitable for drinking without some form of purification because of the presence of chemical or biological contaminants.
Things are even challenging for those countries in Central Asia.
China has seen ripe technology in drinking water treatment in recent years. But application in Kyrgyzstan will need further technology integration, testing and verification judging by local practical situation, according to REN Yiwei, president of China’s Zhongling Environmental Protection Industrial Technology Research Institute.
Kyrgyzstan has rich water resources but is still facing problems on safe drinking water for its population, with rural areas in particular. The country has more than 1,800 villages, among them, 545 have centralized safe water supply.
Adoption of the Chinese technology will “be of great help” for solving the problems of safe drinking water in remote rural areas in Kyrgyzstan, said Toktoshev Askarbek, chief of the country’s water supply department.
7、XIEG Drone Team Completes First Geological Monitoring in Sarez Lake
A UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) team with the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently finished their first aerial photography mission at the Sarez Lake of Tajikistan on its geological monitoring of Usoy.
This is the first time for the team to complete aerial monitoring of geological status in the Sarez Lake area which locates deep in the inaccessible Pamir Mountains and is therefore hard for obtaining high-precision geological data due to its high altitude and bad traffic condition.
The five-member team operates their UAV for a day-and-half aerial photography mission as high as 5,000 meters above the Sarez Lake, and obtained a large quantity of geological data for further hazard monitoring.
Sarez Lake was formed in 1911 after a great earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale. The earthquake caused a landslide of 2.2 km3, which formed the 5kilometers long, 3.2 kilometers wide Usoy Dam. It is the tallest dam in the World, with a height about 600 meters.
The lake’s stability has been an internationally concerned question, considering local seismic activity and the fact that Sarez is located in one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the World. According to scientists, Usoy would be unsteady if an earthquake occurred in the future. Potential flooding poses a threat not only on the population of Tajikistan, but also inhabitants of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The team captured more than 3,600 photos of the dam area about 70 km2 during the flights in one and a half days. Among them, over 1,500 photos are orthographic shooting with a 20-centimeter resolution and about 2100 oblique shooting with resolution of 10 centimeters.
This is the first time for Chinese scientists to carry out on-spot monitoring on Sarez Lake area, and has set a record for the XIEG drone team’s field operation.
The mission is one of many tasks of a cooperated project by XIEG and the Institute of Geology, Seismological Construction and Seismology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan. The project aims to provide scientific support for disaster warning of flood and landslide in Usoy dam through high-precision monitoring with UAV and high-resolution satellite.
8、CAS Opens New Branch Center for Ecology and Environment Research
CAS Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, an overseas science and technology institution held by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, opens its new branch center in Dushanbe, Capital of Tajikistan, on Aug. 28.
As one of the three branch centers of the CAS Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, the Dushanbe Branch Center will focus on meeting and addressing regional ecological and environmental challenges in Tajikistan.
Construction of the center was started two years ago, soon after a signing ceremony witnessed by Chinese President XI Jinping andEmomali Rahmon, President of Tajikistan, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Summit in Dushanbe in September of 2014.
The Branch Center in Dushanbe will consist of four parts, namely the information branch center, joint laboratory, field observation, and agricultural technology experiment and demonstration base.
After the establishment, it will grow to a platform for science and technology cooperation between China and Tajikistan, and a platform for education collaboration and exchange.
The center will target on science and technology cooperation in areas of ecological environmental protection, sustainable utilization of resources, agricultural development, mineral resources exploration, and disaster monitoring and warning. Talent training and cultivation will also be a key task for the Center.
Established in 2013, the CAS Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia is hosted by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG). The Center is jointly constructed by 8 CAS institutes, including the XIEG, and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The Research Center will become an international bridge of cooperation and communication in scientific fields involving ecology for China and Central Asian countries, according to CHEN Xi, director of XIEG.
The Center has three satellite branches — in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
9、China to Establish Research Center on Central Asia
Regional Sci & Tec Issues
A joint research project led by three Chinese research institutions on international science and technology cooperation platform was initiated on Nov. 22 in Urumuqi, capital of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The project was jointly conducted by the CAS Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia supported by Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fudan University and Peking University.
This is a move echoing China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, aiming to improve the scientific cooperation and communication system between China and the countries in Central Asia. Further and sound cooperation will help achieve sustainable development in this area.
“It’s an attempt of new cooperation mode, combining civil cooperation with international cooperation, combining social sciences with natural sciences, and basic researches with practical researches. This will be a move of mutual advantages and mutual development,” said CHEN Xi, director of XIEG.
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21 Century Maritime Silk Road, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative, are a land-based belt from China via Central Asia and Russia to Europe, and a maritime route through the Strait of Malacca to India, the Middle East and East Africa.
The Belt and Road Initiative is a way for win-win cooperation that promotes common development and prosperity and a road towards peace and friendship by enhancing mutual understanding and trust, and strengthening all-around exchanges.
10、Sino-Pakistan Karakorum glacier basin field investigation successfully completed
A joint field investigation by China and Pakistan in the glacier basin of Karakorum regions was successfully completed on June 30.
Scientists from Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Climate Center of China and Pakistan Meteorological Department investigated ice and snow automatic monitoring facilities in the Chitral River basin and collected data there.
The facilities were donated by XIEG this January to the Pakistan Meteorological Department to help boost their glacier runoff monitoring ability.
They also investigated the Pakistani glacier runoff observatory stations in the Barot valley and the Passu Glacier during the five-day investigation.
Chinese researchers provided hydrological model training for Pakistan young researchers after the investigation.
The two sides agreed, during the following two-day discussion, to deepen cooperation both on exchange of young researchers and publication of joint research results. More collaborated researches on mountainous watershed runoff components are expected.
