29 September 2011
Dundee academic identified as one of One-Thousand Talents
An internationally renowned expert from the University of Dundee has been appointed to help prevent future water conflicts in the Far East and promote research collaborations between the UK and China.
Professor Patricia Wouters, Director of the Dundee UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science, will join the international law programme at Xiamen, one of the top international law schools in China. She will make several trips to China over the next few years to help them develop expertise in water law, which is seen as essential to ensuring the peaceful management of transboundary resources and the water security of China and its neighbours.
Professor Wouters will remain in post at Dundee in addition to her appointment at Xiamen, which has been made as part of the Chinese Government’s ‘One-Thousand Talents’ initiative - a programme aimed at enhancing China’s research expertise.
Water law is a subject of increasing global significance as climate change, population growth and other environmental factors place more stress on natural resources in coming years.
Competition for access to water is seen as a possible cause of conflict in many regions, and proper and efficient management of transboundary resources has been identified as being vital in order to head off disputes between China and the 11 countries it shares a border with.
Professor Wouters said she was looking forward to the opportunity to increase the understanding of the many complex issues surrounding transboundary resources in China and to further Dundee’s standing in the country. She hopes to mentor the development of the Water Law Water Leaders programme, pioneered in Dundee, at Xiamen in order to make it the leading centre of international water law in China.
'I am honoured to have been chosen under the One-Thousand Talents initiative, and am delighted to have the chance to make a difference in China as well as developing research partnerships that will benefit both Dundee and Xiamen,' she said.
'Because China has a huge population with growing economic, social and environmental demands, the challenge is to manage its limited water resources, especially its transboundary waters, in the best way possible.
'Promoting regional peace and security through the peaceful management of its shared international waters is a positive way forward - there is considerable scope for co-operation and development, and this is what I’ll be working on in research and research-related activities.'
'It is vital that the Chinese develop water law expertise in order to solve the big transboundary water law challenges it faces. By doing this, it can influence regional peace and security through the peaceful management of transboundary resources.
'I am also to be deeply honoured and proud to be acting as an ambassador for Dundee and ensuring that Dundee’s expertise is instrumental in meeting this challenge. I’ll be implementing our Water Law Water Leaders graduate programme in collaboration with Xiamen, building on the successful programme under the Xiamen Academy of International Law, which attracts some 150 Chinese and regional scholars on its annual session.
'In addition, it will also result in more Chinese subjects coming to Dundee, and I’m looking forward to identifying and implementing exciting collaborative research project which will help to strengthen UK-China relations. We would like more Chinese scholars in Dundee at our UNESCO Centre, so that we can build the next generation of local water leaders.'
The One-Thousand Talents scheme aims to help Chinese universities to develop expertise and improve research outputs by attracting 1000 of the world’s top academics to institutions working in their field. Xiamen is one of the top law schools in China, and Professor Wouters will use Dundee’s expertise to train the next generation of Chinese water leaders.
After the US, China now produces more articles in influential science and social science journals than any other country, and there is scope to develop further international law scholarship.
Professor Wouters will travel to China next month to be formally appointed to her position as Professor of International Water Law at Xiamen, and to begin implementing a research and teaching plan based on the work taking place at Dundee.
Notes to editors:
The UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science operates under the auspices of UNESCO and forms part of Postgraduate School of Management and Policy at the University of Dundee.
The Centre is the world’s only UNESCO Centre combining water law, policy and science; its multidisciplinary approach ensures that it is able to draw upon the full range of academic and practical expertise needed to affect real benefits for real rivers.
As part of UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme, the Centre is establishing a global network of basins to improve the links between hydrology and the needs of society. The Centre is committed to local capacity building and an empowerment agenda; it is focussing its teaching resources on developing the next generation of global water leaders through its Water Law Water Leaders flexible educational programmes.
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