PU signs MoU with Chinese Academy of Sciences

Punjab University's Department of Zoology and Institute of Mountain Hazard and Environment (IMHE) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese Academy of Sciences. In this regard, PU team headed by Chairman of Department of Zoology Professor Dr Muhammad Akhter visited Chengdu, China.
According to the PU spokesperson, PU's Dr Zulfiqar Ali, Professor Deng Wei, President of CAS, Professor Wang Xiaodon, and Zhang Ning, Deputy Director of Mountain and Co-operation Department of the Science and Technology were also present on the occasion. Both parties agreed to cooperate in a spirit of mutual understanding and goodwill and to strengthen the ties of partnership with the co-operative activities like joint research programme, collaboration on individual research projects of mutual interests and the study of techniques and methods, training of individual scientists through participation in collaborative projects, exchange visits of individual scientists, exchange of scientific and technical information, joint party of symposia, conferences, workshops and lectures.
Professor Deng said that this MoU is a solid step towards technology co-operation framework agreement, which marks the IMHE strategy in South Asia. The specific areas of co-operation include paleo-ecosystems in mountainous area, biogeochemical process in mountainous area and its lowland, vegetation dynamics response to climate changes, soil erosion and transporting mechanisms in mountain area and their effect on lowlands, debris flow and landslide due to heavy rainfall and earthquake, joint symposium on geological hazards and eco-environmental change, aerosols and particulate matter study in comparison of ambient and indoor conditions and other areas. PU Vice Chancellor Professor Mujahid Kamran and Professor Deng Wei, President of Chinese Academy of Sciences have appreciated to develop such a useful link between PU and CAS.
PU various departments can make collaborative projects with CAS professors and can win scholarships for students and researchers with joint recommendations. Three students from Department of Zoology have been already benefited with PhD scholarship in this regard. Dr Mujahid Kamran and Professor Deng Wei also appreciated the work of Dr Zulfiqar Ali and Dr Weilong Lui under the supervision of Professor Wang Xiaodon.
Dr Zulfiqar has been honoured to join CAS as foreign expert (March 2014 to September 2014) at Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, to initiate a collaborative work for the research to study climate change that is one of the main challenge to the region. In this context this joint venture of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Punjab University will contribute in reducing the impacts of climate change through the development of the adequate conservation policies and actions within protected areas especially alpine wetlands.