The Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences is a multidisciplinary research institute focusing on, among other things, physical geography and global change, human geography and regional development, natural resources and the environment, geographical information systems and surface simulation, the terrestrial water cycle and water resources, ecosystem network observation and modeling, and Chinese agricultural policy. Through research in these domains, the institute aims to solve major natural resource and environmental problems related to national sustainable development and improve its own innovative capacity at the same time.