New Delhi, July 21 (IANS): A new "centre of excellence" that will promote applied research in the field of forestry, fiber sustainability and in forestry management will soon come up in Bhopal, officials said on Tuesday.

A joint initiative of the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) and International Paper, India, the 'IIFM-IP Paul Brown Center of Excellence' will also cover training and capacity building for students, researchers and professionals of IIFM.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the two organisations in a bid to entail action research, capacity building and academic exchange involving experts and researchers.

"This centre will be established to facilitate and anchor several activities under this partnership. Its functioning will be undertaken jointly by IIFM and International Paper which will share its global best practices and learning," said Rampraveen Swaminathan, president, International Paper, India.

"This partnership, as with several others that we have forged globally in the past, will allow us to share our learning's with the industry and academia to make sustainability a part of life," he added.

The partnership will ensure collaborative research initiatives, partnership and capacity building of sectoral workforce, exchange of relevant publications, he said.