04 November 2026|News
On 29–30 October 2026, the 3rd Science for Future Conference, co-hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, was held in Beijing. Experts, scholars, and young student representatives from universities and research institutions in China and Germany attended the conference and conducted in-depth interdisciplinary exchanges and discussions in the health and environment fields. Following the opening ceremony and plenary lectures, the conference featured five sessions on Human and Public Health, AI as a new research tool for Health and Environment issues, Environmental Impacts, Economic Dimensions, and Political Awareness. Prof. Linxiu Zhang, Director of UNEP-IEMP, was invited to attend the conference and delivered a topical lecture at the Economic Dimensions session on the morning of 30 October 2026.
Prof. Zhang’s lecture was titled "From Growth to Development Towards Sustainability: Some Reflections on Agricultural Economic Research." The lecture began with a brief introduction of China’s "development miracle" from the perspective of rural employment. Yet rapid development has also imposed considerable pressure on the environment and ecosystems, raising the question of how agricultural economic research should measure progress. Ms. Zhang pointed out that the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution are deeply intertwined and pose great challenges to agricultural and food systems and responding to these crises requires promoting a fundamental transformation of the global development paradigm and establishing a healthy relationship with nature for a sustainable future. To this end, based on the work carried out by UNEP-IEMP in recent years, she introduced three empirical studies that provide evidence on how integrated interventions can generate synergies for human health, the environment, and rural livelihoods. Overall, these cases demonstrate that agricultural economic research must move beyond growth-centered metrics and contribute to a development paradigm that safeguards both human health and nature. At last, she once again emphasized the importance of systems thinking and nexus approach and called for strengthened multidisciplinary collaborative responses to turn the interlinkages between climate change and health into a shared agenda for sustainable development.
Director Linxiu Zhang delivered a topical lecture
During the conference, Ms. Zhang listened carefully to other lectures and actively raised questions and exchanged views with participants, contributing to the success of the conference while expanding UNEP-IEMP’s continuing influence in research and action on global challenges and sustainable development issues.
04 November 2026|News
From October 27 to 31, 2026, the Engineering Conference & the 6th International Symposium on Coastal Resources and Environment (CORE 2026) was held at Zhuhai Campus of Beijing Normal University. Centered on the theme "Empowering Resilience Enhancement and New-Quality Development of Large River Deltas with Artificial Intelligence", the conference attracted around 200 experts and scholars from 13 countries. Prof. Zhang Linxiu, Director of the UN Environment Programme-International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP), was invited to deliver a plenary keynote presentation entitled Climate-Ecosystem-Livelihood Nexus: Advancing Agrifood Systems Resilience and Green Low-Carbon Transformation.
In the presentation, Prof. Zhang introduced the interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, highlighting the Climate–Ecosystem–Livelihood (CEL) nexus approach to advancing agrifood systems transformation. Drawing on research and practical experience from China, other Asian countries and Africa, Prof. Zhang shared examples of reducing agricultural carbon emissions among smallholder farmers and developing ecological farming in China; improving rural diets; strengthening women’s participation in crop-choice decisions and agrobiodiversity in Asia; and linking community-led riparian restoration, agroforestry and bamboo value-chain development with local livelihoods in Kenya’s Lake Victoria region. She highlighted the importance of integrating agricultural development, ecosystem conservation and livelihood improvement. For mega river deltas facing increasingly complex climate and ecological risks, artificial intelligence and other digital technologies offer potential to support disaster early warning, water resource management and agricultural production. Their application, however, should be inclusive and sustainable to help advance agrifood systems resilience and the green low-carbon transformation.
Director Linxiu Zhang delivered a plenary keynote speech
02 November 2026|News
26 October 2026, Beijing – The United Nations Environment Programme – International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP) warmly welcomed a delegation from the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), under the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) of Thailand, to exchange knowledge and explore opportunities for future collaboration on bioeconomy, bio-innovation and sustainable development.
The delegation was led by Dr. Kriengkrai Mosaleeyanon, Director of Integrative Crop Biotechnology and Management Research Group, Innovative Agricultural Innovation Group. The delegation also included researchers from the Plant Microbe Interaction Research Team, the AgriNEXT (Next Generation Agriculture Platform) under the Innovative Herbal Plant Factory Research Team, and the Genomics Research Team.
Both sides shared their respective work on bio-based innovation and bioeconomy. Discussions on potential cooperation between China and Thailand were a highlight, with several opportunities and aspects explored, including bio-based materials from agricultural sector.
The visit is expected to help build a collaborative network on bioeconomy, bio-innovation, sustainable resource use and green development among BIOTEC, UNEP-IEMP and partner institutions through South-South cooperation.
29 October 2026|News
On 19 October 2026, Ms. Guoqin Wang, Programme Manager of UNEP-IEMP, visited the Embassy of the Republic of Kenya in Beijing at the invitation of Ms. Edith K. Ngungu, Minister at the Embassy, to advance cooperation on Kenya's sustainable bamboo value chain.
During the meeting, Ms. Wang reviewed the latest progress of Kenya's bamboo pilot initiative under the "China-Kenya Bamboo Technology Transfer" project and shared Chinese experiences in bamboo value chain development and the opportunities they present for Kenya. The two sides also discussed existing bottlenecks to overcome in scaling up Kenya's bamboo value chain to deliver multiple ecological and socio-economic benefits.
They exchanged views on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP)-driven pathway for scaling up Kenya's bamboo industry, as well as priority intervention zones covering flood-prone river basins and coastal erosion areas, in alignment with Kenya's 15 Billion Tree Initiative for combined ecological restoration, climate change mitigation and adaptation, food security, and local livelihood improvement.
The meeting reinforced UNEP-IEMP's continued commitment to South-South cooperation, leveraging bamboo as a nature-based solution to advance climate action, ecosystem rehabilitation, and inclusive green development in Kenyan communities.
27 October 2026|News
From October 24 to 25, the International Symposium on "2026 Renewable Energy Transition: Technology, Impacts, and Policy" was held at Beijing Normal University. The conference was co-hosted by Beijing Normal University, the UNEP-International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP), and the State Key Laboratory of Regional Environment and Sustainability. Top scholars and industry experts from China, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia, and other countries and regions gathered to engage in dialogue on technological pathways, multidimensional impacts, and policy implications of the global green and low-carbon transition. Director Zhang Linxiu and Sun Mingxing attended the symposium.
Zhang Linxiu, Director of UNEP-IEMP and Co-Chair of the conference, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Director Zhang pointed out that the world is currently at a critical historical juncture of energy transition, with renewable energy accelerating its replacement of traditional fossil fuels. As developing countries are expected to account for the bulk of future global energy demand growth, their sustainable transition is of decisive significance for achieving global climate targets and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She emphasized that the energy transition should not be limited to a single engineering or power-sector perspective; rather, it must be deeply integrated with the health of natural ecosystems and the well-being of local communities. She highlighted the "Climate-Ecosystem- Livelihoods" (CEL) flagship of UNEP-IEMP, as well as South-South cooperation mechanisms, and called on all parties to leverage interdisciplinary synergy and extensive international cooperation to address the multiple challenges developing countries face in resources, technology, and finance, thereby effectively translating scientific understanding into policy impetus for a fair and sustainable energy future.
Director ZHANG Linxiu delivered an opening speech
During the two-day conference, participants engaged in enthusiastic and in-depth discussions focusing on core topics such as energy transition mechanisms and drivers, multidimensional environmental and resource impacts, socio-economic effects, and sustainable pathways. In the conference summary session, Director Zhang Linxiu delivered insightful remarks. She emphasized that energy transition is a complex, long-term systematic process that goes beyond mere technological innovation; it requires a comprehensive coordination of multidimensional impacts across environmental, economic, and social spheres, with particular attention to the profound social relations and impacts of new energy development on land tenure and property rights. She pointed out that researchers should strengthen science-based policy influence, bridging the channel from scientific discovery to policy translation. Meanwhile, upholding the philosophy of "Think Global, Act Local," we should actively leverage high-level international platforms such as the United Nations to showcase the innovative achievements and practical contributions of the Chinese and global scientific communities to the world.
23 October 2026|News
Yerevan, Armenia – On 21 October, the side‑event" Conserving Biodiversity, Respecting Cultural Diversity and Practicing Multilateralism" under the China Pavillion of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) took place in Yerevan, capital of Armenia. Guided by the Department of Nature and Ecology Conservation of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, the event was co‑hosted by the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy and the Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It brought together over 100 delegates from government authorities, international organizations, research institutions, civil society and enterprises worldwide for in‑depth discussions on the implementation of the Kunming‑Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, biodiversity mainstreaming and collaborative conservation through diverse cultures.
Haifan Huang, Senior Research Associate at the UNEP‑IEMP, attended the side‑event and delivered a keynote speech entitled" Advancing Agrobiodiversity through Nature‑based Solutions".
Huang noted that agricultural landscapes face compound pressures from land use change, climate shifts and pollution, with roughly one million species at extinction risk per IPBES. She stressed that agrobiodiversity underpins resilient food systems. Drawing on Beautiful China initiatives, she cited community seed banks, rural dietary research and a nature-based paddy drainage project in Pinghu, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, which curbs nitrogen and phosphorus losses while safeguarding grain output and flood control. She stressed that China's experience can be shared through South-South cooperation, with localization essential and farmers, women and indigenous communities fully engaged. Huang also presented Qinghai's "Solar PV Grazing Sheep" initiative, delivering integrated energy, ecological, economic and social benefits aligned with multiple SDGs, with potential for replication in other arid and semi-arid countries.
She highlighted that UNEP IEMP will continue drawing on Beautiful China outcomes, scale up South-South cooperation and facilitate exchanges on agrobiodiversity and nature-based solutions, advancing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
21 October 2026|News
The International Ecosystem Management Partnership (IEMP) and the Editorial Department of China Rural Survey (Editorial Department of the China Rural Development Yearbook) jointly held the Sixth China Rural Development Studies Seminar and the Forum on High-Quality and Full Employment of Rural Labor on October 17, 2026. The experts, scholars, and young students from Peking University, China Agricultural University, Huazhong Agricultural University, Jinan University, Northwest A&F University, Beijing Forestry University, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, and other universities and research institutions attended the meeting.
At the opening ceremony, Dr. Fu Chao, Head of the Research Division of the IEMP and Professor Xin Du, Director of the Editorial Department of China Rural Survey (Editorial Department of the China Rural Development Yearbook), delivered opening remarks, respectively. Dr. Chao Fu extended a warm welcome to the Sixth China Rural Development Studies Seminar being held at IEMP and introduced the participating experts and scholars.Professor Xin Du expressed sincere gratitude to the co-host, the IEMP, as well as to the specially invited experts, commentators, teachers, and students participating in this seminar. He also introduced China Rural Survey and the China Rural Development Studies Seminar, expressing the hope that participating experts and students would study real problems and explore new knowledge through face-to-face clashes of views and exchanges of ideas.
Welcome Remarks by Dr. FU Chao and Professor DU Xin
After the opening ceremony, Dr. Linxiu Zhang, Director of the UNEP-IEMP, was invited to give a keynote address entitled "Forty Years of Off-farm Employment of Rural Labor in China: Review and Prospects." Director Zhang introduced the patterns of industrialization and urbanization in the process of economic development and the development trends of off-farm employment of China’s rural labor since reform and opening up. She reviewed the main issues and important findings of research on off-farm employment of rural labor at different stages and, in light of the strategic deployment and policy needs for high-quality and full employment during China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period, proposed urgent questions and research directions for the future in this field.
Professor ZHANG Linxiu delivered an invited lecture
After the keynote address, the meeting entered the paper discussion session. The paper discussions were divided into morning and afternoon sessions. Associate Editor Lijuan Zhang of the Editorial Department of China Rural Survey (Editorial Department of the China Rural Development Yearbook) and Associate Professor Yunli Bai of IEMP, chaired the first and second halves of the paper discussions, respectively.
Associate Editor ZHANG Lijuan and Associate Professor BAI Yunli chaired the sessions
At the seminar, five paper authors gave academic presentations on topics including the impact of atmospheric environmental regulation on the choice of employment location of rural labor; the impact of the profound adjustment of the real estate sector on migrant workers’ employment; the impact of migrant work experience on rural residents’ participation in digital governance; parental occupational background and the occupational choices of rural offspring; and whether the application of industrial robots leads to downward intergenerational class mobility of rural labor.
Professor Xiaobing Wang of the School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University; Professor Mi Zhou of the College of Economics and Management, Shenyang Agricultural University; Professor Xiaomeng Cui of the Institute for Economic and Social Research, Jinan University; and Professor Xuetao Sun of the Institute of Rural Development, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, provided comments on the presented papers. The four professors conducted in-depth analysis from the perspectives of the frontier nature of paper topics, the rigor of the research design, the rationality of the theoretical logic, and the standardization of the analytical methods, and put forward constructive suggestions and comments for revision. The paper authors engaged in lively discussion and in-depth exchange with the experts, scholars, and participating teachers and students on related issues.
At the end, Director Xin Du summarized the meeting. He expressed sincere respect for the dedication and efforts of the specially invited experts, commentators, and paper authors, and sincere gratitude to the IEMP, for its meticulous organization and thoughtful arrangements for the meeting. He also expressed the hope that experts, scholars, and young students would continue to follow and actively participate in the academic activities organized by the Editorial Department and jointly promote continuous progress in China rural development studies.
By combining keynote address with thematic discussions, the seminar built a platform for academic exchange in the field of high-quality and full employment of rural labor in China, helping to deepen relevant research and policy discussion. The team of the IEMP has long conducted research in the interdisciplinary field of "Climate, Ecology, and Livelihoods," and labor employment is an important research topic in the livelihood dimension. The convening of this seminar helped enhance the team’s research capacity and expand its collaborative research network in this field.
20 October 2026|News
From 11 to 15 October 2026, Ms. Linxiu Zhang, Director of UNEP-IEMP, and Mr. Chao Fu, Head of Research Unit at UNEP-IEMP, visited Rome, Italy, and participated in the Rome Water Dialogue of the 2026 World Food Forum at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). As an important component of the Forum, the Rome Water Dialogue provides a global platform dedicated to advancing Integrated Water Resources Management to strengthen food and water security worldwide, promoting an integrated approach that connects water, land and soil management. The main purpose of this visit was to showcase the latest outcomes of the FAO–UNEP-IEMP collaborative case study on good practices in sustainable management and restoration of global agricultural lands, and to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with partners.
On 12 October, the team attended a technical session within the Rome Water Dialogue on "Restoration of degraded agricultural lands: Innovation from policy to practice for water and food security". The session was organized by the FAO Land and Water Division, and was addressed by Ms. Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of FAO, as well as ministerial-level agriculture officials from Kenya, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Central American Agricultural Council. During the panel discussion, Ms. Linxiu Zhang delivered a keynote presentation, in which she pre-launched and presented the findings of the Global Compendium of Practices in Sustainable Management and Restoration of Agricultural Lands and Soils (Volume 1: Rangelands, Pasturelands and Grasslands), jointly compiled by FAO and UNEP-IEMP.
The report selects 15 good cases from 61 cases solicited globally, covering good practices in pasture/grazing land management, agrosilvopastoral systems, soil and water restoration, and wildlife management across the world’s major grassland regions, including cases from China's Loess Plateau, Tibetan alpine grasslands, and Inner Mongolian arid and semi-arid grasslands. In her presentation, Ms. Zhang analysed the innovations of several outstanding cases in technological, institutional, social, policy and financial dimensions, and in particular, using the case of the synergistic "Energy–Ecology–Agriculture" development in Dalad Banner, Inner Mongolia of China, demonstrated the pathway through which new technology-based solutions can achieve multiple benefits. She also figured out the constraints and gaps that need to be addressed and the way forward for scaling up action. Subsequently, experts from Brazil, Spain, Mongolia and other countries shared their respective experiences and perspectives on how to strengthen the restoration and sustainable management of agricultural lands.
Keynote presentation at the technical session of Rome Water Dialogue
The team also participated in other technical sessions held on 12–13 October within the Rome Water Dialogue, including those on the governance of water tenure and on drought and irrigation management, as well as the Rome Water Dialogue Exhibition, and the High-level Rome Water Dialogue on held on the morning of 14 October. In addition, on the margins of the meetings, they held discussions with the FAO Sustainable Land Management team on the improvement and publication plan of the existing case study report, and exchanged views on the research framework and schedule for the next volume of case studies on croplands. This visit laid a solid foundation for smoothly advancing the existing collaborative project and for expanding partnerships and future areas of cooperation.
19 October 2026|News
On October 8, 2026, the United Nations Environment Programme-International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEPM), together with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and SynTao, jointly held a side event themed "Resilient Agrifood Systems" at Bangkok Climate Week (BKKCAW2026). Nearly 70 experts and representatives from international organizations, research institutions, enterprises, farms, and NGOs attended the event, discussing pathways for green and low-carbon transformation of agriculture in Asia around the topic of rice methane emission reduction.
Dr. Wang Bin, a researcher at the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, delivered a keynote speech titled "Synergy between Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Yield Increase in China's Rice Cultivation," showcasing a series of technologies that achieve around 20% methane emission reduction while maintaining or increasing yields, including fertilizer management and water-saving irrigation. He emphasized that advancing greenhouse gas emission reduction in rice cultivation must uphold the bottom line of food security, and that appropriate technology pathways for reducing emissions while increasing yields should be selected according to different regions and production conditions.
Dr. Bjoern Ole Sander of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) introduced Southeast Asia's experiences in scaling up low-carbon rice, proposing a "four-pillar" implementation pathway consisting of supportive policies, a scalable MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) system, farmer incentives, and private sector participation. He noted that small-scale donor funding can leverage more domestic funding and social capital to participate in promoting the scaling up of emission reduction.
In the panels on "Multi-stakeholder Participation in Building a Rice Methane Emission Reduction Mechanism" and "From Field to Value Chain," representatives from Chinese and international research institutions, international organizations, NGOs, farms, and listed companies shared their respective experiences and observations, and engaged in in-depth exchanges with the audiences.
Participants generally agreed that the main challenges in current rice methane emission reduction lie in organizational mechanisms and funding guarantees. In the future, collaborative cooperation among key stakeholders is needed to build a low-emission value chain covering everything from farm fields to people's dining tables, and to promote the realization of green, sustainable, and climate-resilient agrifood systems in Asia.
Side Event Details (Chinese version).
10 October 2026|News
Share your proven solutions. Help build a global knowledge base of tested and scalable approaches for sustainable cropland management, soil health and land restoration. Submit your case study by 30 November 2026
Background
Agricultural lands and soils are essential for food security, biodiversity, climate resilience and rural livelihoods, yet more than 60 percent of human-induced land degradation occurs on agricultural land.
At the UNCCD COP17, Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification adopted the decision on Avoiding, Reducing and Reversing Land and Soil Degradation of Agricultural Lands. The decision promotes approaches such as agroecology, regenerative agriculture, conservation agriculture, sustainable integrated land management, nature-based solutions and land restoration, and invites FAO and other technical partners to support countries in strengthening knowledge, monitoring and restoration efforts.
In response, FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme-International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP) are jointly developing the Global Report on Good Practices in Sustainable Management and Restoration of Agricultural Lands and Soils.
Following Volume I on Rangelands, Pasturelands and Grasslands, submissions are now invited for Volume II: Croplands to identify and showcase proven, scalable solutions from around the world.
Call for Submissions
We are seeking case studies that demonstrate successful approaches to sustainable cropland management and restoration, including agroecology, regenerative and conservation agriculture, sustainable soil management, nature-based solutions, soil and water conservation, restoration of degraded croplands and climate-resilient agricultural systems.
How to Submit
Please prepare your case study in English using the official Case Study Template.
• Submission deadline: 30 November 2026
• Submission email: info@unep-iemp.org
Contact
FAO: Rakotondramanga Soalandy (Soalandy.Rakotondramanga@fao.org)
UNEP-IEMP: Tatirose Vijitpan (tatirose.vijitpan@outlook.com).
