A joint laboratory for conservation and utilization of biological resources established by China and Tajikistan was officially launched in March in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan.
Covering an area of about 200 square meters, the laboratory was jointly established by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Tajikistan Academy of Sciences, and aims to strengthen multiple-field cooperation in biological resource collection and conservation as well as bio-industry development and innovation.
Zhang Yuanming (third from left) investigates biological resources in Tajikistan.
The laboratory is supplied with basic experimental equipment such as ultra-low temperature refrigerators, automatic constant temperature incubators, and operating tables. A core team of 15 professionals and administrative staff from China and Tajikistan are responsible for its scientific research and operation.
Researchers from CAS’s XIEG and Tajikistan researchers make a joint scientific exploration to Sarez Lake in Tajikistan.
Saidov Abdusattor, Deputy Dean of the Tajikistan Academy of Sciences, said by video link at the launching ceremony of the laboratory that Tajikistan boasts rich biodiversity with around 23,000 species of animals and plants. However, due to human factors and global climate change, some animal and plant species are on the verge of extinction and are listed in the Red Data Book in Tajikistan.
“The joint laboratory is expected to boost protection and utilization of biological resources in Tajikistan. It will attract biologists, ecologists and experts in other areas from China and Tajikistan to participate in the research, protection and utilization of biological resources,” he said.
Zhang Yuanming, director and research fellow of CAS’s XIEG, said that the establishment of the joint laboratory is part of the efforts to implement the results of the COP15 meeting, the first part of which was held in Kunming, China in October 2021.
“CAS’s XIEG will make full use of the new platform to strengthen cooperation with Central Asian countries in biodiversity conservation and utilization, and share scientific and technological achievements and development experience through joint research, cross-border scientific research, and personnel training,” Zhang said.
Tajikistan is an inland country in the southeastern part of Central Asia, bordering China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the east and southeast. China and Tajikistan established diplomatic relations in 1992, and the year 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them.
They signed an intergovernmental agreement on scientific and technological cooperation in March 1993, and are both members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Source: Xinhua