Two Foreign Experts from XIEG Honored with 2025 Tianshan Award

Two distinguished foreign experts, Khabibullaev Bakhitjan and Saidov Abdusattor Samadovich, have been recently honored with the 2025 Tianshan Award, Xinjiang’s highest provincial-level recognition for foreign experts, in acknowledgment of their contributions to the region’s socioeconomic progress. Both experts were recommended by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Khabibullaev Bakhitjan, a specially-appointed professor at XIEG and the director of the International Innovation Center of the Aral Sea Region (IICAS) under the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan (NCECC), has played a pivotal role in bilateral cooperation between the XIEG and the NCECC. He has been dedicated to the demonstration and application of Xinjiang's advanced technologies in saline-alkali land reclamation, ecological restoration, and water-saving irrigation in Uzbekistan. He also has made significant contributions to the establishment of the Tashkent headquarters of the Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia (RCEECA).

Saidov Abdusattor Samadovich, academician and former vice president of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, serves as the co-director of the China-Tajikistan Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use. A key figure in fostering scientific and technological collaboration between China and Tajikistan, he has facilitated multiple joint research projects, organized joint field expeditions, and established interdisciplinary research teams in areas such as water resource utilization, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem dynamics. His dedicated efforts have been instrumental in the founding and the development of the Dushanbe branch of the RCEECA and the China-Tajikistan Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use.

Up to now, a total of 20 foreign experts affiliated with XIEG have received the Tianshan Award of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. This award is presented annually, with 5 to 10 individuals being selected each year.

Contact

LONG Huaping

Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography

E-mail: longhp@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Web: http://english.egi.cas.cn