Mr. Kai Kaatra, deputy director general of Finland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry headed an 11-person delegation to IWHR, met the vice president of the institute Jia Jinsheng and talked on future cooperation within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding between both countries.
Dr. Jia welcomed Mr. Kaatra’s second visit since last February. He reviewed the existing exchange between IWHR and water-related entities in Finland, and spoke highly of the achievements Finland has made in water resources management, water environment protection and application of information technology.
The vice president also introduced China’s new policy for guaranteeing national water security, which emphasizes water conservation, water-human relation, integrated water resources management, and the roles of both government and market. He said IWHR was willing to promote cooperation with the Finnish counterparts in integrated water resources management, flood control and disaster mitigation, restoration of water ecology, etc. He also looked forward to the first meeting of the China-Finland joint steering committee on water resources management as well as the first corresponding symposium to be held the next day.
Mr. Kaatra briefed the host on the water management system of Finland, the strategic objectives and short- and medium-term plans of the MOU, and the participatory Finnish research institutes. He also introduced the planned areas of cooperation, including urban storm monitoring, early-stage warning and risk management, IWRM-based river and lake restoration, and international water activities.
The delegation also includes experts from Finnish Environment Institute, ELY Centre for Southwest Finland, Finnish Water Forum, University of Turku, Pyhäjärvi Institute, Finnish Meteorological Institute, and the Finnish Consul in Shanghai.
In-depth discussion was also conducted on the selection of cities for demonstration and the comparison of research modes. After the meeting, the Finnish delegates paid a visit to IWHR’s Department of Water Resources and Department of Water Environment.
