On July 21, 2023, the kick-off meeting of China-Tajikistan Intergovernmental Cooperation in International Science and Technology Innovation Project was successfully held in Dushanbe. The projects of this kick-off meeting mainly included Assessment and Sustainable Utilization of Grassland Resources in Tajikistan by Li Yaoming (Researcher of Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography CAS), Study on Water Volume Change and Balance of Lake Sarez in Tajikistan by Researcher Ma Long, Dynamic Monitoring and Early Prediction of Agricultural Drought and Locust Plague in Tajikistan by Qian Jing (Associate Researcher of Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology CAS), and Remote Sensing Accurate Monitoring and Potential Risk Assessment on Plateau Quake Lake under Sky and Ground Coordination by Zhu Changming (Professor of Jiangsu Normal University). More than 30 people from Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, RCEECA (Dushanbe), Chinese project leaders and Tajikistan project leaders attended the kick-off meeting online or offline, and the meeting was presided over by Majid Gulayazov (Executive Director of RCEECA (Dushanbe) ).

At the kick-off meeting, four project leaders made a detailed report on the main research content, assessment indexes, specific task division, expected results and future work plan of the projects. The Tajikistan project partners hoped that the two sides could establish common sampling and test analysis index criteria, and communicate the progress of work in a timely manner during the implementation of the projects, so as to further promote the smooth progress of the projects. In addition, the leaders from the two sides of each project had in-depth communication on the follow-up work of the projects, including the specific sampling location, sampling time, sampling tools, personnel arrangement, etc., which laid the foundation for the follow-up work.

After the kick-off meeting of the projects, a joint scientific survey was conducted with the Institute of Botany, Plant Physiology and Genetics, Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, and the field survey and sampling were performed in Qurghonteppa, Dangara, Takob, Khujand and other places, collecting plant specimens and seeds of different grassland types at different altitudes, and also collecting soil at different depths.

During the visit, project members visited the Institute of Botany, Plant Physiology and Genetics, Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, and visited its Herbarium, where they had discussions and exchanges on plant biodiversity, plant taxonomy, ecology & geographical diversity of species.

Kick-off Meeting Site

Group Photo at the Kick-off Meeting