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THE RUSSIAN BRANCH OF THE JOINT RUSSIAN-VIETNAM TROPICAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL CENTER

Official website of the center - www.tropcenter.ru

The Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center (Tropical Center) is a branch of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE RAS), established and operating on the basis of the Intergovernmental Agreement between the USSR and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam of 03/07/1987 and the Protocol to this Agreement, signed by the Government of the Russian Federation on the assumption of obligations by the Soviet side.

IEE RAS was appointed the head organization for fulfilling the obligations of the Russian side under the Agreement, fulfilled on the part of Vietnam by the Ministry of Defense of SRV.

Фотография

Presently, the Tropical Center is an important object of strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the field of science, technology and military-technical cooperation. Over the 25-year period of activity, the Tropical Center has become an international, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary scientific organization that has no analogues in world practice.

The tropical center is located in Hanoi, with regional offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang. It has a well-developed infrastructure - buildings and structures, experimental laboratories, field ecological and climatic testing stations. It is the only Russian research organization in the tropical zone.

The main activities of the Tropical Center are:

- carrying out research and technological work in three scientific areas: tropical ecology, tropical materials science and tropical medicine;

- coordination of joint research projects of organizations of Russia, Vietnam and third countries;

- provision of scientific and technical services and assistance in adaptation and transfer of technologies; - training of scientific personnel into high qualification.

Фотография

The opening of the Tropical Center provided Russian science with unique opportunities for a comprehensive and systematic study of the richest and most complex ecosystems. On the basis of the Tropical Center, comprehensive studies of freshwater and marine communities, mangrove forests, karst massifs, lowland, foothill and mountain tropical forests are carried out. For some regions of Vietnam, a modern biodiversity audit was carried out for the first time. The methodological approaches typical of national biological science applied to tropical ecosystems made it possible to lay the foundation and find ways to solve such global problems as the regularities of the functioning of primary and human-transformed tropical forest systems and coastal marine communities. An important practical result of interdisciplinary studies of tropical ecosystems is the concept of the genesis of plague in Vietnam.

New knowledge in the field of the evolution of tropical nature makes it possible to more successfully solve environmental problems in our country than before.

The leading role of forest ecosystems in maintaining and regulating the climate of territories and the general hydrological regime has been conceptually confirmed and largely clarified.

The study of the large-scale use of dioxin-containing herbicides by the United States during the Vietnam War made it possible to identify and characterize the features of dioxin ecotoxicology, to establish the main links in the pedogenesis of the so-called dioxin pathology, to substantiate and test new approaches to assessing the risks of exposure to these poisons on humans and nature.

Taking into account the need to counteract threats to environmental and chemical safety, knowledge of the general patterns of the impact of superecotoxicants on nature and humans is of great importance to the Russian Federation.

Practical recommendations for adaptation, health preservation and improvement of professional longevity of Russian and Vietnamese specialists in various activities in the tropics have been developed.

The work of the Tropical Center in the framework of the "Tropical Materials Science" direction is of particular importance in the creation of new materials and equipment samples capable of withstanding the aggressive effects of tropical climate factors. These works are aimed at ensuring the quality and competitiveness of Russian-made products supplied to the countries of the tropical region.

Based on the results of field tests in the atmosphere and marine environment, the characteristics of the climatic resistance of a significant number of structural materials were obtained and a list of effective protective equipment suitable for use in a tropical climate was determined. The research has collected an extensive database of scientific and practical value.

In the course of scientific and technical support for the operation of Russian-made equipment (Air Force, Air Defense) in units of the Vietnamese People's Army of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a number of proposals and recommendations were developed for the Design Bureau of Russia and operating organizations to improve the resistance of equipment meant for tropical regions.

The results obtained and the experience of conducting such studies are extremely relevant in the context of the supply of weapons and military equipment and the construction of complex technical facilities (NPPs) in Vietnam, and the focus of the Tropical Center's work meets the modern requirements of the Russian government on facilitating the entry of Russian high-tech products to foreign markets.