2016/06/27     Dresden, Germany

The Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences (WUELS), the Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden) and the United Nations University Institute for the Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES) strengthen their partnership with a trilateral Cooperation Agreement on research and scientific exchange.

Following a fruitful visit of the Polish partners to Dresden in February this year, the Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences (WUELS) hosted representatives of UNU-FLORES and TU Dresden and took the collaboration to a higher level. On 16 June 2016, the three institutes celebrated the signing of a Cooperation Agreement in Wroclaw signifying the start of a closer trilateral partnership in the
areas of research, knowledge transfer, education, and training activities.

The three partners share a range of common research interests, in particular concerning transboundary resources management and the transformation of societies and economies in view of global challenges and internationally adopted 2030 Development Agenda. To maximize on these synergies, the Institutes agree to mutually contribute to ongoing research activities, develop and initiate new research projects and to publish jointly. They will also strive to develop mutual activities that will promote young scientists.

All the activities are to cover a range of topics but will also pay special attention to water and soil resources modelling and scenario analysis, including a critical review of models and tools for Nexus research and management. Where the Nexus Observatory is concerned, focus will be placed on developing databases and scenarios on issues such as water pollution and nutrient loads and current and future land use including assessment and rehabilitation of heavily disturbed landscapes (e.g. mining sites), particularly in developing countries.

The Cooperation Agreement was signed by the Director of UNU-FLORES, the Rector of WUELS and the Chancellor of TU Dresden. The development of the legal agreement followed a visit from Prof. Cezary Kabala (Faculty of Life Science and Technology, WUELS), Mr. Krzysztof Kafarski (Head of the Unit for International Cooperation, WUELS) and Prof. Ewa Burszta-Adamiak (Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Cartography and Geodesy, WUELS) in Februrary 2016. The Cooperation Agreement entered into force on the 16 June and is valid for a period of five years.