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A scientific mission led by INRA’s Environment and Agronomy research division in China (Canton, Shanghai, Nanjing, Yangling and Beijing) in September 2009 had identified the theme of environmental pollution and environmental remediation as a joint interest for potential collaboration, in particular with institutions present in the region of Canton.
In October 2010, a delegation of 17 scientists from the research division went to Canton to participate in a workshop organised with Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU). Each institution presented their areas of research and expertise. Visits of polluted sites and experimental remediation sites were organised by INRA’s partners from the SYSU in the Canton region in order to have a clearer idea of local reality. The Chinese group, constituted principally by the SYSU and organisations of the Guangzhou region (14 participants/18), was extended to institutions of other provinces (4/18). Five fields of cooperation (carbon and nitrogen cycles, effluent management, metal and organic pollution of soil and water, facilities and platforms) were defined with two to four topics for each field. French and Chinese scientists will work in pairs, per topic, to reflect on the following points: main research topics, expected results, benefit of the French-Chinese cooperation, experimental sites, useable or desirable models. The Environment and Agronomy division has already received applications to host either scientists with a grant from the Consulate or PhD students with a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council. Beyond these bilateral relations, it seems that INRA's partners at the SYSU may be interested in forming a Joint Laboratory, to facilitate research, applied and fundamental, in the five fields indentified, exchanges of PhD students and scientists and the organisation of an international conference. This programme is part of the strategy of INRA's Environment and Agronomy division to broaden and diversify their international partnerships.
Contact in the Environment and Agronomy Division: Jérôme Guérif
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