A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Chinese Academy of Forestry and the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education to foster cooperation between the two nations in identified fields of research. A six-member high-level Chinese delegation, headed by CAF president Zhang Shougong, visited ICFRE, Dehradun, on Monday. The delegation interacted with ICFRE officials to identify research areas for cooperation in the areas of forestry sciences. The MoU signed between the two institutions will facilitate cooperation between two countries on identified areas of research. Shougong and the ICFRE director generation, VK Bahuguna, discussed emerging areas of mutual interest like climate change, forest ecosystems, forest hydrology and tree improvement. Appreciating the Chinese expertise in the area of bamboo cultivation and technologies for bamboo products, Bahuguna said that the same could be shared with the council in an institutionalised manner for livelihood support. ICFRE director (P&IC) Sandeep Tripathi outlined the objectives of visit of the delegation under the umbrella of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Cooperation Agreement. The CAF delegation made a presentation highlighting tree breeding, ecological improvement, germ-plasm conservation and sustainable forest management. The delegation agreed to prepare an Umbrella Action Plan with main emphasis on bamboo cultivation and development of industrial bamboo products and improvement programme for important tree species like teak, sisso, sandalwood and eucalyptus among others. According to the ICFRE DG, this long-term bilateral collaborative programme has tremendous scope for exchange of technologies in the area of bamboo improvement, product development and tree improvement in a bid to address livelihood issues and promote sustainable forest management.