China - Initiation of a cooperation project on capacity building for mitigating persistent organic pollutants in China

In order to strenghten it's research cooperation with China, NIVA has signed a cooperation agreement with Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, takes active part in the establishment of the Sino-Norwegian Interdisciplin ary Centre for Environmental Research (NICER) and has currently a Resident Project Coordinator in China. The research field of persistent organic pollutants in the environment is a new topic for cooperation between NIVA and DESE. Both institutions are st rong in this field so the potential for strong and novel research is good. The research field has high priority on the international agenda. A proposal will be prepared and submitted to the Norwegian Government. Department of Environmental Science and En gineering, Tsinghua University is the leading education institution in China. This will ensure active involvement of graduate students and Post-Doctoral fellows in the main project. One concrete project plan currently under development is establishment o f a demonstration project on local implementation of the Stockholm convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in China. The establishment of such cooperation was motivated by Chinese and Norwegian government officials at a meeting presenting the n ew Chinese implementation plan for the Stockholm Convention earlier in 2006. It is therefore strong support for the establishment of a bilateral cooperation project on this topic. The research field of is a new topic for the cooperation between NIVA and D ESE. Both institutions are strong in this field so the potential for strong and novel research is good.