A South Korean think tank on freshwater organisms and biodiversity conservation agreed on Tuesday with India's Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development to make preparations toward initialing joint research on the exploration and use of bioresources, the think tank said.

The state-run Nakdonggang National Institute of Biological Resources and the Indian research center signed a business pact on the agreement in Imphal, a city in India's northeast province of Manipur.


The IBSD, based in the Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot, is carrying out a study on the biodiversity of the biogeographic junction of the Indian and oriental landmasses under the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology.

Under the pact, the two think tanks will conduct a joint study on exploring freshwater bioresources and preserving the biodiversity in northeastern India.

The South Korean research body will also push ahead with a plan to conduct joint research with the IBSD on the development of technologies for the cultivation and conservation of microbes and the utilization of information on bioresources.

The NNIBR-IBSD tie-up is expected to boost the South Korean institute's efforts to find unique bioresources useful for agriculture and other industries, as the northeastern Indian region offers biodiversity as a tropical zone. Information on biota in a tropical climate can be utilized to forecast climate change in South Korea and forestall it, the NNIBR said. (Yonhap)