On November 11, the launch meeting for the China-New Zealand Specialized Project Titled Research on the Construction of Nature-based Coastal Wetland Buffer Zones and the Improvement of Coastal Resilience (Grant No. 2024YFE0103100) under the National Key R&D Program of Intergovernmental Cooperation was held at Hohai University (HHU).
The meeting was attended by distinguished leaders and experts. Among them were Science and Technology Counselor from the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand Gu Min, HHU's Deputy Party Secretary and Vice President Lu Guobin, Academician Ian Townend from the UK's University of Southampton, Professor Gao Shu from Nanjing University, Professor Wang Zhengbing from the Netherlands' Delft University of Technology, Professor Li Xiuzhen from East China Normal University, Professor Chen Luzhen from Xiamen University, Research fellow Chen Yining from the Second Institute of Oceanography under the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, and former President of HHU Professor Zhang Changkuan.
In his welcome address, Vice President Lu Guobin stated that as the lead institution, HHU would closely monitor project progress, ensure effective organization, and provide necessary support and resources for partners at home and abroad to pave the way for achieving the project's objectives at a high level.
Counselor Gu Min provided an overview of China's advancements in science and technology and its efforts in international science and technology cooperation, including the implementation of relevant initiatives. Based on this, she provided valuable suggestions for project implementation, expressing hope that the project would further facilitate scientific research cooperation and friendship between China and New Zealand.
Project leaders from China and New Zealand respectively introduced the project background, overarching framework, specific implementation plan, composition of the New Zealand team, study areas, key scientific questions, and detailed research approaches. The experts engaged in lively discussions on the project's research goals, specific content, logical linkages between topics, and strategies for China-New Zealand collaboration to achieve breakthroughs. They provided constructive advice on refining scientific questions, detailing research content and plan, and optimizing project organization and management models, offering crucial support for the project's smooth implementation.
HHU serves as the lead institution of the Chinese side for the project, with East China Normal University as a participating institution, while the University of Auckland leads the New Zealand side. The project would conduct interdisciplinary research in coastal geomorphodynamics and ecology using typical coastal wetlands in both China and New Zealand as study areas. It aims to predict the evolutionary trends of these typical coastal wetlands under changing environmental conditions, propose suitable technologies for coastal wetland buffer zone construction, improve coastal wetland ecosystem structures, enhance coastal resilience in both countries, and support coastal wetland management decision-making.
During the meeting, the China-New Zealand joint project team also organized the Coastal Resilience Academic Symposium, facilitating in-depth exchanges among more than 50 experts, scholars, and graduate students from China, New Zealand, the UK, the Netherlands, and other countries.
