Chengdu, September 2, 2025 — At the invitation of Chengdu University of Technology, Ms. Linxiu Zhang, Director of the United Nations Environment Programme—International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP), delivered a keynote speech at the university’s 74th “Mount Everest Lecture”. The theme of her lecture was “Climate, Ecology, Livelihoods Synergy: Advancing Sustainable Development.”

In her address, Director Zhang emphasized that in the face of global environmental challenges, effective ecosystem management is essential to fostering the common development of humankind. She noted that fragmented actions by individual sectors are often insufficient to address complex global issues, and that only by transforming them into multi-dimensional, shared collaborative goals can genuine sustainable progress be achieved. In this process, she stressed, multilateral cooperation is more effective than bilateral approaches.

Director Zhang highlighted that the world is currently facing a “triple environmental crisis” of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, and that the interlinkage of these crises is driving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seriously off track. She called on the international community to adopt a systemic approach that fosters cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary cooperation to safeguard the health of both humanity and the planet.

She further emphasized that diversified agricultural and non-agricultural income activities can significantly improve household livelihoods and enhance adaptive capacity in the face of environmental change. At the same time, community participation, inclusiveness, and collaboration among diverse stakeholders are critical to the success of conservation and livelihood improvement interventions. Ensuring the participation of women, men, and socially and economically disadvantaged groups is vital. Empowering women is not only a matter of gender equality, but also a key pathway to achieving multiple SDGs. 

Director Linxiu Zhang delivered a lecture