On November 3^rd, 2018 in Beijing, the cooperation agreement was officially signed between the CAS Strategic Priority A Program: “Pan-Third Pole Environment Study for a Green Silk Road” (hereafter as Pan-TPE) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The Principle Investigator of Pan-TPE, Prof. Tandong Yao, and Director of the Science Division of UNEP, Dr. Jian Liu, signed the MoU. Prof. Yaping Zhang, the vice-president of CAS, witnessed the signing ceremony. 

In his speech, Prof. Yaping Zhang congratulated the formal signing of MoU between Pan-TPE and UNEP.  He said CAS and UNEP has built up  long-term partnership, the implementation of Pan-TPE program will provide essential S&T support to the eco-environment protection, disaster risk reduction and sustainable socio-economic development along the Silk Road region. The joint efforts by CAS and UNEP can push forward to achieving the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by confronting the frontier research, meeting the requirements of science and technology for local and regional development.

On behalf of UNEP, Dr. Liu pointed out that, with a high-level national and international research team, Pan-TPE program will be make great contribution to green development, environmental change assessment, climate change adaptation along the Silk Road region.