The Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Ministry of Water Resources, and Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (NWAFU) was officially founded in 1956. In 2001, CAS and the Ministry of Education established the Research Center of Water and Soil Conservation and Ecological Environment.
The institute is dedicated to scientific research and demonstration projects in soil erosion, water and sediment changes, soil and water management for land use, vegetation restoration and ecological functions, agricultural water conservation, and green development. It consists of eight research units, including the State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Agriculture on the Loess Plateau, the Department of Regional Soil and Water Conservation and Environment, and the National Yangling Engineering and Technology Research Center for Water-Saving Irrigation. In addition, the institute operates advanced research platforms, such as the Artificial Simulated Rainfall Hall, the Artificial Simulated Drought Hall, and the Artificial Simulated Runoff Hall.
The institute has 196 staff members, 20 guest researchers, and 543 graduate students. It offers three doctoral and master’s degree programs in Soil Science, Ecology, and Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, along with one professional master’s program in Environmental Engineering and an interdisciplinary doctoral program in Land Science and Engineering.
The institute also hosts three international cooperation and exchange platforms under the Ministry of Science and Technology, including the Sino-US Joint Research Center on Soil and Water Conservation and Environmental Protection, the Sino-US Joint Research Center for Agricultural Water Use in Arid Areas, and the Sino-Korean Joint Research Center for Biotechnology to Combat Desertification. Members of the institute hold key positions in international organizations such as the World Society of Soil and Water Conservation, the International Desertification Association, and the International Union of Soil Science.
More information: http://english.iswc.cas.cn.
