XI'AN: The Austria-China Research Centre for Environment Protection was launched on Tuesday, at Northwest A&F University (NWAFU) in Yangling, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, during the three-day Sino-Austrian International Conference on Eco-Energies for Future Generations.
A joint venture between NWAFU and Eurasia-Pacific Uninet in Austria, the center will conduct research and promote protection of the environment in Northwest China, said NWAFU President Sun Wuxue.
Northwest China, the Loess Plateau in particular, suffers from serious soil erosion due to long-term irrigation development and use of natural resources.
Although the Chinese Government and local residents have done a great deal of work to rectify the situation in the past 50 years, the deterioration of the environment is yet to be stopped.
Situated on the southern edge of the Loess Plateau in Northwest China, NWAFU will emulate the advanced experience and technology of foreign countries to harness the environment.
Sun explained the venture came from the result of a series of exchanges between academics from NWAFU and officials from Eurasia-Pacific Uninet from April 2005 to December 2006. After these visits, they decided to set up the Austria-China Research Centre for Environment Protection.
Organized by NWAFU, the Eurasia-Pacific Uninet and the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna, Austria, and the Sino-Austrian International Conference on Eco-Energies for Future Generations are here to discuss new technologies and solutions for sustainable development focused on renewable energies, said Dr. Brigitte Winklehner, President of the Eurasia-Pacific Uninet.
Eurasia-Pacific Uninet is a network that aims at establishing contacts and scientific partnerships between Austrian universities and those of applied sciences in the People's Republic of China, Mongolia and countries in East Asia, Central Asia and the Pacific Region.
Winklehner founded Eurasia-Pacific Uninet in 2000, and it is financially and logistically supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture.
NWAFU is a leading university specializing in agriculture, forestry and water in Northwest China.