Journal of Geographical Sciences 14, supplement (2004) 97-100 ISSN: 1009-637X www.geog.cn

The Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS Director: Professor Liu Jiyuan Deputy Directors: Cheng Shengkui, Ouyang Hua, Li Xiubin, Sun Junjie Address: 11A, Damn Road, Beijing 100101, China E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.igsnrr.ac.cn The Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was merged from the Institute of Geography (established in 1940) and the Commission for Integrated Survey of Natural Resources (established in 1956) on June 16, 2000. The institute now has 594 staff members, including 253 employed permanently for the pilot innovation project of CAS. The total number of the scientific and technical personnel in the institute is 457, among which, there are 6 academicians of CAS, 3 academicians of CAE (the Chinese Academy of Engineering), 94 professors, 150 associate professors and others with the same level of professional title, 102 technicians, and 26 visiting professors. The institute can offer postdoctoral research programs in both Geography and Ecology. It can also award both PhD degree in geography and ecology and master degree in physical geography, human geography, ecology, cartography and GIS, meteorology and environmental science. The institute devotes itself to innovating and putting geographical, resource and geoinformation science researches forward in the following: to explore the spatial pattern of the material and energy flows in the ecosphere, the rule of migration and transformation and the evolution mechanism under the mixed influences of the nature and the human activities, and the interactions between population, resource and environment, as well as regional development through comprehensive studies on the exchanging flows of materials, energy, human and information; to reveal the dynamic mechanism of the ecosystems and the man-land system and the interrelations between the components; and to develop integrated measures and technology based on the geoinformation science for the ecosystem and the man-land system studies. The institute constitutes of 4 research centers and 2 key laboratories, namely the center of man-land mechanism and regional development, the center of resource and environment, the center of ecosystem network, the center of geoinformation science, and the national laboratory of resource and environmental information system, as well as the laboratory of water circulation and dynamic process of the ecosystem. Also, the institute achieved a great progress in the applied research fields during the past two years. Of which, the National Physical Atlas of P.R.China won the First Class Award of Progress in Science and Technology of CAS in 2000; remote sensing in ocean fishery and the application of the geoinformation system technology got the Second Class Award of the National Prize of Progress in Science and Technology in 2002; and serial reports on research on the Chinese regional development and research on territorial resources were published. It can be said that the institute has developed a good relationship with relevant scientific research institutions from more than 50 countries in Europe, Americas and Asia in scientific cooperation and academic exchange. Nowadays, the institute is carrying out a strategic shift of its focus in international cooperation toward organizing important international cooperation programs and sponsoring important international meetings. In the meantime, the institute is well equipped with a batch of essential equipments and installations, such as a large-scale indoor runoff simulation instrument, an experimental flume for fluvial simulation, a large-scale lysimeter, micro meteorological observational system, carbon flux content and the computer network system and so on.