News

The “Workshop for Decision Makers on Direct Heating Use of Geothermal Resources in Asia” was held in Tianjin, China, May 11-18, 2008. The event was co-hosted by UNU-GTP, Iceland and Tianjin Bureau of Land Resources and Real Estate Management (TBLRREM) and Tianjin Bureau of Geology and Mineral Exploration Development (TBGMED), China in co-operation with the Ministry of Land and Resources of P.R. China as well as the Municipality of Tianjin and several specialized agencies. The more than 100 participants mainly came from seven countries in southern and eastern Asia active in direct geothermal utilization for space heating, i.e. China, India, Iran, Jordan, Mongolia, the Peoples Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. Workshop

Individual reports, written by Fellow from 2007 for the Yearbook "Geothermal Training in Iceland", are now available for download from the publications page on the UNU-GTP website. Publications

The 30th annual session of the UNU-GTP opened on 16th April 2008. This year 22 UNU Fellows participate in the six month specialized courses. They come from China 5, Costa Rica 1, Djibouti 1, El Salvador 2, Eritrea 1, Ethiopia 1, Indonesia 2, Jordan 1, Kenya 1, Mexico 1, Nicaragua 1, Rwanda 1, Tanzania 1, Uganda 1, and Yemen 2. They will be trained in: Geothermal Utilization 7, Chemistry of Thermal Fluids 3, Environmental Studies 3, Reservoir Engineering 3, Geological Exploration 3, Borehole Geophysics 2, and Drilling Technology 1.

United Nations University Geothermal Training Programme (UNU-GTP) in Iceland, the Tianjin Bureau of Land Resources and Real Estate Management (TBLRREM), and the Tianjin Bureau of Geology and Minerals Exploration and Development (TBGMED) will be hosting "Workshop for Decision Makers on Direct Heating Use of Geothermal Resources in Asia", to be held at the Renaissance Tianjin TEDA Hotel, Tianjin, China, 11-18 May, 2008.

The 2007 Short Course for Central American countries was held in Santa Tecla, El Salvador, 25 November – 2 December. The Course dealt with geothermal development in Central America with special focus on resource assessment and environmental management. In addition to lectures and debates on the subjects, there were practical excercises (several working groups) in reservoir resource assessments of geothermal fields from several countries and in environmental management planning for specific geothermal fields.

The 2007 Short Course for the East African countries was held in Kenya 2-17 November at Lake Bogoria Hotel and Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge. Its aim was to give an overview of methods used in surface exploration, to pass on knowledge of the status of surface geothermal exploration in East Africa and to further the geothermal co-operation between the East African countries.