A delegation of Chinese, scientists who made an informative visit to the Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the organization Hellas-China International, had a meeting with the Rector of the Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU), Professor Nikos Katsarakis, on Monday, January 22, 2024, in Heraklion, through the office “Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs P.R. China in Greece”.
During the meeting, present from the HMU side were the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Lifelong Learning Professor Fotios Mavromatakis and the Professor of the Department of Agriculture Filippos Ververidis (coordinator), while from the side of the Chinese Delegation the Chief Deputy Director- General of the China CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Management Authority, Department of Wild Wildlife Conservation, China National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Dr. Zhang Dehui, accompanied by a seven-member scientific committee. It was established from both sides, the existence of scientific fields of common interest and the willingness to explore further cooperation between the two bodies in education and research.
The Chinese Delegation included twenty scientists specialized in the field of Wildlife Ecology Protection and Conservation, who visited the Farm facilities of the Department of Agriculture of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences. During the visit, presentations were organized for the visitors, by members of the Department of Agriculture concerning the issues of the Cretan Flora and the protection of the Wild Fauna of Crete (Associate Prof. Konstantinos Paschalidis), as well as the importance of of agro-ecosystems in the conservation of the biodiversity of the wild life of Crete (Associate Professor Ioannis Zografakis). Finally, references were made to the environmental problems of human activity, a case study: the National Forest Park of Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli (Prof. Filippos Ververidis).
The Chinese Delegation expressed its satisfaction for the visit to HMU.In the next few days it will visit other institutions, traveling both to Crete and the rest of Greece for research purposes for about 15 days.
