23 August 2021|News
On August 13, 2021, supported the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Belt and Road International Alliance for Green Development, the mid-term consultation meeting of"Key Biodiversity Areasalong the Belt and Road: Identification and Risk Control of ‘No-go Areas’ Project hosted by United Nations Environment Programme - International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP- IEMP) was successfully held online. Professionals from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China Construction Bank, China International Contractors Association and other organizations, stakeholders and project team participated the meeting, Ms. Wang Guoqin, Officer of the UNEP-IEMP Project Unit, moderated the meeting.
Figure 1 Project mid-term consultation meeting was held online
Dr. Zhang Linxiu, Director of the UNEP-IEMP, pointed out that "biodiversity" is one of the three major environmental issues in the world today. In the context of the development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China’s strengthening cooperation with countries along the route, it is tiem to pay more attention to the impact of project development activities on biodiversity conservation. And biodiversity conservation becomes an inevitable requirement for China's green development goal from overseas investment projects.
Ms. Liu Ying, Acting Director of the Green BRI Project, WWF Beijing Representative Office, briefly introduced the development background and the project areas of WWF. She gave a comprehensive and systematic explanation of the project from the perspectives of its background and goals. Ms. Liu also highlighted that this guideline refined and confused previous work would well satisfy various biodiversity conservation needs and requirements by all professionals and trades. Mr. Tian Fang, Deputy Director of the Belt and Road International Alliance for Green Development of the Foreign Cooperation and Exchange Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, introduced the work and the partnership of the organization.
Project leader Dr. Xu Xiangbo presented the project background, objectives, tasks, mid-term progress, next stage work plan. Based on the background and specific objectives of the project, Dr. Xu elaborated the various documents from different institutions that the draft guideline cited, referred and verified, and showed the research methods used in the guideline, then introduced the future work plan of the project.
During the discussion, the consultants conducted extensive discussions on the draft of the guideline, future work plans, and the presentation of results. Professionals from different fields offered their advices on the guideline’s framework, targets, application scenarios, the tools, and some related problems.
In order to satisfy the biodiversity conservation practical needs during the period of their projects development, this project is committed to proposing feasible methodologies to identify a potential "No-go zone". By helping corporations, financial institutions, decision-makers and other stakeholders to take adequate risk control and mitigation measures, this project aims to decrease the impact of infrastructure investment and construction on Key Biodiversity Areas, to reduce unnecessary losses to the implementing entities, and ultimately effectively implement the Green BRI development concept.
16 July 2021|News
11-13 July 2021, the 2021 Eco Forum Global was held successfully in Guiyang, Guizhou, China. Dr. Linxiu Zhang, Director of United Nations Environment Programme – International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP), was invited to attend the opening ceremony in the morning of 12 July, and gave a keynote speech at the theme forum "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains are Invaluable Assets" in the same day afternoon.
In Director Zhang’s speech on Conserving Biodiversity and Enhancing Community Livelihoods through Integrated Approaches, Dr. Zhang stressed the interlinked nature of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the vicious cycle of ecosystem degradation, climate change and poverty that developing countries are facing. A nexus approach on Climate, Ecosystem and Livelihoods (CEL) was introduced in her speech with the importance of developing green livelihoods highlighted. Several cases from China and other developing countries were mentioned as examples of the application of the CEL approach.
Key messages from Director Zhang’s speech include:
SDGs are interlinked and require the application of systems thinking and integrated approaches to address trade-offs and exploit synergies.
Integrating the development of green livelihoods into biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration while addressing the negative effects of climate change is one of the means of mainstreaming nature.
At the implementation level, the role of community participation, women empowerment, integrating of traditional wisdom and modern scientific knowledge, private sector engagement, and long-term partnerships are important elements.
Application of the CEL nexus approach in rural areas of developing countries will contribute to the effective implementation of the SDGs and needs to be promoted and scaled up through South-South Cooperation.
Director Linxiu Zhang Delivered a Keynote Speech
Eco Forum Global is a non-profit, international high-end platform, aiming at promoting eco-civilization by convening global leaders from government, business, academics, media and civil society for building a resource-saving and environment-friendly society. It is the first and only state-approved international platform on the theme of ecological civilization in China.
