The Sino-German cooperation project “Assessment of Freshwater Ecosystems under Global Change” (EcoChange), also known as “ecological indicators for sustainable and integrated freshwater resources management” which was jointly applied for by Prof. Qinghua CAI, head of IHB’s Research Group of System Ecology and Watershed Ecology and Prof. Nicola Fohrer, head of the Hydrology and Water Resources Management Department in the Ecology Center of Christian-Albrechts-Universit？t zu Kie has been funded by the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the German Research Foundation (DFG), with a duration of 3 years. The Grant No. of this project is GZ 465.  

In this project, experts from the fields of hydrology, hydrobiology, remote sensing, soil science and ecological system of both sides will work together to assess the ecological indicators in the hope that the influence of global change on freshwater ecological system can be revealed. This project will provide scientific support for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.  

Participants in this project have enjoyed a good cooperative relationship for nearly 10 years. The “Sino-Germany Seminar on the Sustainable Utilization of Soil and Watershed Ecosystem Management in the Middle and Upper Reaches of Yangtze River” was successfully held at Wuhan in April 2001. In December 2002, the "Sino-German Joint Research Station of River Ecosystem and Watershed Ecosystem Management” was established.  

Recently, with the support of Sino-German Center for Research Promotion, the principle investigators from both sides conducted a series of cooperative activities, including: “Sino-German Workshop on Environmental Impacts of Large-scale Hydraulic Engineering” (March 2006), “Sino-German Summer School on Concepts and Algorithms in Geoecosystem Modelling” (Yichang city, March 2007), “field methods and eco-hydrological models for integrated water management in rural areas” (Christian-Albrechts-Universit？t zu Kie, September 2008)