Dr. Andrew Schroth, UVM Department of Geology, was an invited speaker for an inaugural workshop held in Xiamen, China on October 12-17, 2014 on "The First International Workshop on Urbanization in Watersheds: Ecological and Environmental Responses". Dr.Schroth was invited by one of the key organizers, Dr. Art Gold, Professor of Watershed Hydrology, at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Schroth is a Co-PI (VT) for the Northeast Water Resources Network (NEWRnet) award from the National Science Foundation, which is a consortium of 3 states - VT, RI and DE. Dr. Gold is PI for the RI NEWRnet team. The North East Water Resources network (NEWRnet) is a next generation monitoring initiative that integrates economic behavior and policy to support sustainable communities in a productive landscape.
The overarching goal of the workshop was to develop collaboration among Chinese and American/European scientists studying the impacts of rapid Chinese urbanization on water quality and stream ecosystems.
During some of the breakout sessions, developing a water quality monitoring network in China similar to(and potentially linked with) NEWRnet was discussed.