Pretoria - Deputy Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom has called on Chinese researchers to collaborate with their South African counterparts to investigate palaeontological resources.
Speaking at the Palaeoscience seminar held in Shanghai, China, Hanekom said it was through international scientific relationships that South Africa could share the technological skills and know-how needed to achieve greater understanding of the value that these finds had for the world.
"We are grateful to the foreign research collaborators who bring their expertise to joint endeavours. The People's Republic of China has advanced technological skills that are critical to the development of knowledge," he said, adding that South Africa already boasts bilateral relations with China in palaeoscience and indigenous knowledge systems.
"We are committed to intensifying our collaborative efforts in areas in which we can complement each other," he said.
Deputy Minister Hanekom said it his department's responsibility was to train more researchers so that the country could take full advantage of the country's fossil heritage.
"Palaeontological studies must assist us in understanding how climate change affects the evolution of organisms, and how organisms affect the physical world," he said.
He added that knowledge of past patterns of human life and the implications of population growth could help in developing a more effective approach to safeguarding the future of the planet.
Hanekom chairs the Palaesciences Steering Committee at the University of Pretoria. The Expert Team comprises of specialists from Archaeology, Paleo-Anthropology and Palaeontology.
The Team's brief is to draft overarching policy for the Palaeosciences within the National Research Foundation's (NRF) African Origins Platform.
South Africa is taking part at the Shanghai Expo which started in May this year.
South Africa and China have agreed to arrange joint workshops every year, and to use the workshops to review progress and exchange information about research being conducted on fossils in the two countries.
