A marine research centre in Hong Kong has been designated a Regional Centre of Excellence by a United Nations body at a conference in Tokyo.
The Centre for Marine Environmental Research and Innovative Technology (Merit), which is based at City University, was designated a Regional Centre of Excellence in Marine Pollution by Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (Pemsea).
Pemsea, which is an organisation under the UN Development Programme, has partnered with 11 East Asian nations to achieve sustainable development in the region's coastal areas.
Merit involves six Hong Kong universities and a number of universities overseas, and is conducting research on chemical, biological and engineering technologies for monitoring and controlling the effects of development on East Asia's coastal regions - many of which are under threat from human pollution.
Rudolf Wu Shiu-sun of City University's department of biology and chemistry, who is the director of Merit, said the designation was 'prestigious'.
Professor Wu said it showed Merit was not just one of the best marine pollution research centres in China but in Asia.