Challenges

Water resources are major strategic resources globally, and lake and reservoir water sources are among the most important sources of drinking water. The water quality of water sources is affected by many factors such as climate change, hydrogeological conditions, and the surrounding environment. Among them, extreme rainfall has a more intense impact on the water quality of lake and reservoir water sources. Both Guangxi and Malaysia are areas with frequent extreme rainfall. Through cooperation with Malaysia, comparative studies affected by different climates can be carried out, further enriching and developing the theoretical and technical systems for ensuring the water resources security of different types of reservoirs. The achievements of this cooperative research provide in-depth insights for China and Malaysia in the efficient and safe utilization of water resources.

Toward a Solution

In 2017, China and Malaysia signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Water Resources between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of Malaysia (valid until 2027), with the aim of promoting the improvement of water resources management levels. It is worth noting that the field of “Water security and water resource utilization under the influence of climate change, environmental transformation and extreme weather” has attracted widespread attention worldwide. Guangxi (China) and Malaysia are both areas with frequent extreme rainfall, and both sides are concerned about the topic of “the impact of extreme rainfall on the water quality evolution process of lake and reservoir water sources”. Since 2020, Guilin University of Technology (China) and University Tunku Abdul Rahman (Malaysia), have successively established the “China-Malaysia Water Environment Technology Innovation Center” and the “International Joint Laboratory for Carbon Reduction and Collaborative Control of Pollutants”.
Guilin University of Technology and University Tunku Abdul Rahman have strong complementary advantages, mainly reflected in three aspects: (1) The research target areas of the project are set in Guangxi, China and Perak, Malaysia, which can supplement the research scenarios under tropical rainforest climate and tropical monsoon climate conditions, and expand the application scope of the project results. (2) The team led by Honghu Zeng and Lam Sze Mun have jointly published 26 SCI papers. The technologies formed for identifying pollutant sources, evaluating toxic effects and efficiently removing pollutants can provide technical support for the project research. (3) The two cooperating parties have established a long-term and stable cooperation mechanism, expanding their cooperation areas and broader international cooperation space.
The cooperation between the two sides has achieved achievements. Sze-Mun Lam and Sin Jin-Chung from University Tunku Abdul Rahman have been awarded positions in the “2020 ASEAN Outstanding Young Scientists Program for Work in Guangxi”. Relying on Guilin University of Technology, they have been selected into the list of the world’s top 2% of scientists from 2021 to 2024. Both sides have obtained six projects, including the National Foreign Experts Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Education Foreign Aid Program of the Ministry of Education, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Both sides jointly published 26 SCI papers (including 11 in Top journals), compiled 6 academic monographs, and applied for 1 international patent. The team of Sze-Mun Lam supported the team of Zeng Honghu to win the first Prize of the Science and Technology Award for Environmental Protection and the First Prize of the Innovation Award of the Invention and Entrepreneurship Award of the China Association for Invention, and supported the two disciplines of environmental ecology and engineering of Guilin University of Technology to enter the top 1% of the ESI world ranking.