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.
