On 2 February, 2021, “The Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity (TEEB): Promoting a Sustainable Agriculture and Food Sector (China)” (hereafter referred to as “TEEBAgriFood China”) held its second Project Steering Committee Meeting successfully online. As the coordination and implementation unit, UN Environment Programme-International Partnership for Ecosystem Management (UNEP-IEMP) convened the meeting. 

Steering committee members from government institutions, including Rural Energy and Environmental Agency of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Bureau of International Cooperation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Department of Ecology and Environment of Yunnan Province, Baoshan Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, Tengchong Ecology and Environment Bureau, Tengchong Government Departments, and agricultural enterprises and cooperatives of Tengchong city attended the meeting. The core members of UNEP-IEMP reported the progress of the project. Director of UNEP-IEMP, Dr. Zhang Linxiu, attended the meeting and participated in the discussion.

The TEEBAgriFood China project is funded by the European Union (EU), led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), coordinated by UNEP-IEMP, and jointly implemented by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) of Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE). The project aims to understand the value of ecosystem and biodiversity in the field of agricultural food with the help of TEEBAgriFood multidimensional assessment framework, and to help policy makers make decisions justified by economic viability and both environmental and social sustainability. 

In July 2020, the first Project Steering Committee identified Tengchong City of Yunnan Province as the only case for further study in China. In October 2020, the project implementation team went to Tengchong City, Yunnan Province to carry out the multi stake-holders interview and the field survey on ecological protection and green development, and then developed the " Scoping and Scenario Setting Report of TEEBAgriFood China" (hereinafter referred to as "the report") on the findings including but not limited to this investigation trip.

At the meeting, the project implementation team introduced the survey outline and project research design of Tengchong city. Within the framework of TEEBAgriFood evaluation, the report explored the possible impact of Tengchong agricultural system on natural capital, physical capital, human capital and social capital under different development scenarios. The report focuses on the introduction of Tengchong's region, agricultural system, national policies and local reform needs, time scale of scenario design and specific parameter settings. During the meeting, the steering committee members reviewed the report, and provided advices for the next steps for the implementation of the project. According to the members’ advices, the project team will improve the scenario design and the implementation plan in terms of objectives of the project, social values, policy advocacy and multilateral cooperation.

Second Project Steering Committee Meeting of TEEBAgriFood China

The TEEBAgriFood project’s full name is " The Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity: Promoting a Sustainable Agriculture and Food Sector". The project is organized and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in seven pilot countries including China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Thailand. The project starts from the agricultural food system, based on the TEEB sustainable agriculture and food assessment framework, and carries out the natural, economic and social multi-dimensional value assessment, aiming to promote the biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services supply of the case countries. The core idea of the project "mainstreaming the value of the nature" shares a very similar core of Chinese President Xi Jinping's conviction of “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”.

For more information about the TEEBAgriFood project, please click here.