None
Friday, 20 August 2010

Vice-Chancellor of The University of Western Australia, Professor Alan Robson, has been invited to Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) in south-western India to launch KAU's new Master of Science course in Climate Change Adaptation.

Half of Kerala's population of more than 30 million people depend on agriculture and the State's produce include rice, coconut, tea, coffee, rubber and spices.

"KAU's aim is to enhance agricultural development and the livelihood of agricultural communities in Kerala through education and research," Professor Robson, an agricultural scientist, said.

"Our two Universities signed a Memorandum of Understanding last year.  KAU was established in 1971 and is ranked in the first three of India's 57 agricultural universities.  For almost a century The University of Western Australia has supported agricultural industries across the State and the nation and, increasingly, with international partners.

"UWA's high international standing in agriculture sciences is reflected in its having been ranked 34 th in the world by the respected Shanghai Jiao Tong World University Rankings for agricultural sciences this year - the highest ranking of any Australian university."

Professor Robson said KAU's introduction of its MSc Climate Change Adaptation course was timely in the wake of one of the biggest humanitarian disasters in history - the August floods in Pakistan - and the contrasting wild fires and drought in Russia.  Parts of China and Europe were severely affected at the same time.

"As the planet warms, we are seeing climate extremes in different parts of the world," he said.  "In India, global warming will result in conditions including monsoon uncertainties, a decline in rainfall, an increase in temperature and sea level, frequent floods and landslides, more summer droughts, groundwater depletion, decline in water resources and water quality, and a decreased land-area and yield in thermo-sensitive crops such as rice and wheat.

"Our nation, too, faces the challenges of climate change and I look forward to collaborating with KAU in adaptation strategies through crop simulation models, genetics, agronomic packages and decision support systems."

Professor Robson will be at KAU on Monday 6 September.  He will be accompanied by UWA Winthrop Professor Kadambot Siddique, Director UWA's Institute of Agriculture.

Media references

Winthrop Professor Kadambot Siddique (Director, The UWA Institute  (+61 8) 6488 7012
of Agriculture)
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716

Tags

Channels
Business and Industry — International — Media Statements — Research — Teaching and Learning — University News
Groups
Science Matters