24 July 2024|News
On June 10th, UNEP-IEMP together with the Kenya local partners, the Wildlife Research and Training Institute, and the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, launched an ecosystem restoration project in the Lake Victoria Basin.
In recent decades, the combined effects of climate change and human interventions have had a significant impact on the environment and community of the Lake Victoria Basin. Frequent floods are reshaping life of the local communities. For example, after the first rainy season in 2024, flooding in Lake Victoria resulted in the water level rose to 1,137.5 meters, 2.5 meters above the baseline, and the lake water flowed back into the floodplain, affecting more than 160,000 people on the Kenyan side and the disaster displaced 17,000 families.
In this context, UNEP-IEMP initiated the project entitled "Ecosystem Restoration for Enhancing Livelihoods and Addressing Climate Change: China-Kenya Cooperation on Bamboo Technology Transfer" in the Nzoia catchment of the Lake Victoria Basin. It focuses on ecological restoration, technology transfer, and assessment in the degraded Nzoia catchment by addressing challenges like rebuilding riverbanks with bamboo as flood buffer zone, restoration priority areas and techniques, science for policy. It also seeks to address Kenya national policy priorities on "15 Billion Tree" initiative and the "National Bamboo Policy 2022".
During June 5-9th, the joint project team surveyed the Nzoia catchment to understand ecosystem degradation status, local stakeholders` needs, practices, success and lessons on restoration, and identified key intervention sites for restoration. Local communities, including sand harvester, farmers, restoration practitioners and water user groups were consulted for building consensus on restoration actions.
Project team visit to the Busia county government, June 7th, 2024
The project was launched with different local stakeholders in Busia County in the west Kenya on June 10th, together with a training session organized. During the launched, Dr Linxiu Zhang, Director of UNEP-IEMP, expressed her expectations on this project to join hand with local communities living in the flooding zone, and jointly build functional ecosystems, climate resilience and alternative livelihoods in the coming 3 years.
Dr Linxiu Zhang, Director of UNEP-IEMP, giving opening remarks at the launch workshop, June 10th, 2024
This project is funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and will be implemented in 2024-2026. For more, please find the project description here.
15 July 2024|News
July 12, 2024, at the invitation of Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation (GEIDCO), Professor Linxiu Zhang, Director of UNEP-IEMP attended the sub-forum on "Energy Transition and Sustainable Development" at Second High-level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development, which was hosted by GEIDCO, and chaired the high-level dialogue session of the sub-forum.
Representatives from State Power Investment Corporation Limited, United Nations World Food Programme, China Power Equipment and Technology Co., Ltd., Pakistan Embassy in China, LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., and BYD Energy Storage and New Battery Division, participated in the panel discussion. The panelists shared their insights with emphasis that all countries should strengthen practical cooperation, reduce dependence on fossil energy, promote the development of renewable energy, and jointly contribute to the world’s sustainable development. Inclusiveness, cooperation, innovation and sustainability are the key elements to boost and implement the global energy transition. In the conclusion of the panel discussion, Director Zhang introduced UNEP's initiatives and cross-sectoral cooperation in the field of energy transition, and studies that have shown that the energy transition lays the foundation for sustainable economic development, social inclusion, energy security, health improvement, employment opportunities and other social benefits. Equity and inclusion are necessary to realize these possibilities. She ended her remarks by looking forward to all parties working together to make full use of the advantages of information, technology and resources to further deepen cooperation in the field of energy transition, and further explore new opportunities in the field of energy transition, so as to jointly contribute to the sustainable development of the world, especially of the Global South.
The venue of the panel discussion
The conference was hosted by the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDA). For more about the sub-forum, please see 全球共享发展行动论坛第二届高级别会议"能源转型与可持续发展"分论坛在京举行.
04 June 2024|News
During 27-31 May 2024, a 5-day capacity building event on sustainable bamboo utilization between Thailand and China was organized with an aim to initiate a potential collaboration on bamboo technology transfer. With support from UNEP-IEMP and the Royal Thai Embassy in Beijing, the event was hosted by Nanjing Forestry University (NJFU) and co-hosted by Zixi County Government, Jiangxi Province. The delegation from Thailand was led by DrToemsakSrikhirin,ExecutiveDirector of the National Metal and Materials Technology Center (MTEC) of the National Science and Technology Development Agency of Thailand. From UNEP-IEMP, Ms Guoqin Wang and Ms Tatirose Vijitpan participated in the event.
The event was kicked off through a workshop at the NJFU to exchange on experiences and technologies applied for bamboo life cycle management to ensure socio-economic and ecological benefits. The delegation then visited Zixi County in Jiangxi province to explore on bamboo material processing techniques and machines for furniture, construction, plastic substitute, bamboo carbon credits, as well as on planting and harvesting. At the closing workshop, prioritized areas were identified and agreed for cooperation.
Group photo at NJFU
With regard to this cooperation, UNEP-IEMP plays a facilitating role, providing platform for concrete cooperation to benefit not only for Thailand and China, but also the planet in general. "As bamboo is a nature-based solution, it very well supports the UNEP Climate, Ecosystems and Livelihoods Flagship Programme, especially when considering the bamboo in whole life cycle. It creates invaluable contributions towards ecosystem restoration, carbon sequestration, community resilience, supply for energy, food and clean water, alliterative building martial, substitutes for plastic." Ms Guoqin Wang mentioned in her remarks, "We hope this event will pave the way for substantial steps ahead."
Visiting bamboo scrimber factory in Zixi County
03 June 2024|News
On 15 May 2024, the science news article titled "Forests, Water, and Livelihoods in the Lesser Himalaya" was published on Eos science news magazine by the American Geophysical Union(AGU). It captures the essence of the International Symposium on "the Forests-Water-Livelihood Nexus in the Lesser Himalaya", which was organized in September 2023 in Nepal as part of the UNEP-National Natural Science Foundation of China funded project "Developing Nature-based Solutions for Nepal following a Nexus Approach towards Sustaining Forestry, Water Resources and Livelihoods", in which UNEP-IEMP is a co-leader.
The Himalaya region is one of the world’s biodiversity and climate change ‘hot spots’ where community-based forest management is applied increasingly to help balance a range of ecosystem services including stable water supplies and sustainable harvest of forest products. However, while the ‘High Himalaya’ are intensively studied, the Lesser Himalaya (i.e. Middle Mountain zone, Siwalik foothills, and Terai plain) have received far less scientific attention. These implications are critically important as over 80% of the total streamflow emanating each year from the mountain chain (excluding the westernmost and easternmost parts) derives from rain falling in the Lesser Himalaya. This article presents the complex changes in land use, land cover, climate, and demographics that are combining to stress water security for millions of people in the region. Moreover, it also outlines the cooperation on forest hydrological research and initial findings.
This project is a triangular cooperation of experts from Nepal, China and developed countries.
It is available here:
https://eos.org/features/forests-water-and-livelihoods-in-the-lesser-himalaya
25 April 2024|News
On April 22, 2024, the Earth Day, the launch event of the UNEP report "Global Bioeconomy Assessment: Coordinated Efforts of Policy, Innovation, and Sustainability for a Greener Future" was held at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing. The conference was co-hosted by the UNEP-IEMP and Fudan University. More than 80 experts, scholars and research team members from the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment; Administrative Center for China’s Agenda 21; Peking University; Tsinghua University; Renmin University of China; Beijing Normal University; Tongji University; Shandong University; Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS; Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, CAS; University College London (UK); De La Salle University (the Philippines); etc. participated in the event .
The report, led by Fudan University and UNEP-IEMP, is the first technical report on global bioeconomy assessment released by UNEP. Yutao Wang (Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering Department of Fudan University, Deputy Dean of Shanghai Institute of Energy and Carbon Neutralization Strategy), Mingxing Sun (Associate Professor at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS and senior researcher at UNEP-IEMP), and Linxiu Zhang (Director of UNEP-IEMP) are the co-authors of the report.
Prof. Linxiu Zhang delivered an opening remark at the event. She pointed out that the report provides comprehensive information on the development of the bioeconomy and is closely related to the theme of this year’s Earth Day: "Planet vs. Plastics". The release of the report will help to provide scientific reference for policy formulation and help stakeholders to accurately grasp the essence of bio-based economy.
Professor Linxiu Zhang delivered an opening remark
Prof. Yutao Wang introduced the report. Experts from the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Administrative Center for China’s Agenda 21, Peking University, Renmin University of China, Tongji University, Shandong University, and Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, CAS, commented on the content of the report, affirmed the comprehensiveness and systematicness of the report, and put forward suggestions for future research.
Mr. Jian Liu, Director of the Division of Early Warning and Assessment, UNEP further affirmed the systematicness of the report and its significance for the future development of bioeconomy. He emphasized that the development of bioeconomy should focus on livelihood improvement and adopt measures tailored to local conditions in order to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Director Jian Liu made a closing remark
In the future, UNEP-IEMP will continue to work with partners to contribute to the promotion of South-South and North-South cooperation in various ways, including knowledge transfer and capacity building.
Media such as Xinhua Financial and the WeChat public account of the UNEP also reported on the press conference.
UNEP publicaiton "Global Bioeconomy Assesment: Coordinated Efforts of Policy, Innovation, and Sustainability for a Greener Future"launched（联合国环境规划署正式发布《全球生物基经济评估：为绿色未来协同推进政策、创新与可持续发展》技术报告）
https://bm.cnfic.com.cn/sharing/share/articleDetail/196408661/1
UNEP launched the first technical report on global bioeconomy （环境署发布首份关于全球生物基经济的技术报告）
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/cB_wTN4-_per6W4FcaxSgQ
Full text Global Bioeconomy Assessment: Coordinated Efforts of Policy, Innovation, and Sustainability for a Greener Future
24 April 2024|News
On April 23, 2024, UNEP-IEMP received Ms. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Deputy Executive Director ofUNEP, as part of her mission to China. Mr. Jian Liu (Director, Early Warning and Assessment Division, UNEP), Ms. Marlene Nilsson (UNEP Regional Director for Asia and Pacific, a.i.) and UNEP China Office also participated.
The venue for the meeting
Ms. Mremawas warmly welcomed by the UNEP-IEMP team. Prof. Linxiu Zhang, Director of UNEP-IEMP, gave a briefing on the center’s recent work. Afterwards, Ms. Mrema provided guidance on the center’s recent work and future development. She highly valued the UNEP-IEMP as an important pillar to mobilize scientific evidence to drive new policy development on environment sustainability, not only for UNEP but the world. The team was also encouraged to work outside of the environment silo, to also collaborate with non-environment institutions, towards integration of solutions. There was also a warm discussion session for enhancing linkages between the work of UNEP-IEMP, UNEP Headquarters and UNEP Regional Office for Asia and Pacific.
23 April 2024|News
On April 11, 2024, the kick-off meeting of the project "Water-Food-Ecology Synergy in the Asian Temperate and Tropical Rice Planting Areas and the Implementation Pathways of Relevant SDGs" was successfully held at the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences of Peking University. Director Linxiu Zhang was invited by Professor Zhou Feng's team from Peking University to attend the project launch and deliver a speech. On behalf of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Director Zhang put forward expectations for strengthening the transformation of project results, and suggested that breakthroughs should be made in science for policy, case studies, technical methods, and data support, so as to help countries in the Global South accelerate regional sustainable development. Prof. Zhang wished the project good achievements and hoped that the project would better support the work of UNEP and serve Member States. Li Wencong, Director of the Division of Asian, African and International Organizations of the International Cooperation Bureau of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, pointed out that the country attaches great importance to scientific research funding for international cooperation, and hopes that the NSFC can promote the establishment of long-term, lasting and in-depth cooperative relations between UNEP and other multilateral and bilateral international institutions through the implementation of international cooperation projects. More than 10 experts and scholars in related fields from project sponsors, scientific research institutes and universities were invited to attend the meeting, and more than 30 people from the project team attended the meeting.
Director Zhang delivered an opening remark on kick-off meeting of "Water-Food-Ecology Synergy in the Asian Temperate and Tropical Rice Planting Areas and the Implementation Pathways of Relevant SDGs"
On April 19, 2024, Director Zhang attended the kick-off meeting of "Methane Emission Mechanism and Mitigation Pathway of Animal Manure Management in Typical Asian Countries" project. The project is led by the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and participated by collaborators from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other institutions from Vietnam and China. As the world’s second most important greenhouse gas, methane emission reduction is imperative in climate change, pollution control and other aspects to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The meeting was held mainly to discuss the project implementation plan and to obtain experts’ views. Director Zhang, speaking on behalf of UNEP, wished the project smooth implementation and hoped the project would contribute to the SDGs from methane mitigation.
Group photo of the kick-off meeting of "Methane Emission Mechanism and Mitigation Pathway of Animal Manure Management in Typical Asian Countries" project
12 April 2024|News
On April 10, 2024, UNEP-IEMP held two back-to-back events, i.e. Seminar on Gender Equality and Sustainable Development, and Closing Conference of the project "Improving Social Impacts of China’s Development Finance in Countries of the Global South from a Gender Perspective". The project was funded by the Ford Foundation and implemented by UNEP-IEMP. The event brought together over 30 representatives from United Nations agencies, foundations, academia, and industry associations to discuss the themes including the social impacts of overseas investment, gender equality and inclusive development, climate change, and biodiversity conservation.
Mr. Enjiang Cheng, Program Officer from the Ford Foundation, delivered a welcome speech, sharing the priority of Ford Foundation’s funding in the area of overseas investment, and emphasizing the characteristics of diversified development in gender equality studies. Prof. Chengfang Liu, Deputy Dean of the School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences at Peking University and Deputy Director of the China Center for Agricultural Policy, shared her latest research titled "Compulsory Education and Rural Labor Off-farm Employment in China: A Gender Perspective" and discussed with the participants.
Assoc. Prof. Yunli Bai, Research Fellow of UNEP-IEMP and the project coordinator, presented the results of the project on behalf of the team. The results included the case studies of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (Indonesia) and the Pokhara International Airport (Nepal); policy recommendations for investors, the governments and civil society organizations in host countries; and a toolkit to improve the social impact of overseas investment from social inclusive and gender equality perspectives. Prof. Xiaopeng Pang from Renmin University of China and Prof. Tonglong Zhang from South China Agricultural University provided insightful comments and constructive suggestions on the presented project results and gave the directions for future study.
Ten experts shared their views and experiences around the topics on gender equality and female leadership in inclusive development as well as gender equality in relation to climate change and biodiversity conservation during the seminar. The experts unanimously agreed that women play a crucial role in improving family welfare, reducing carbon emissions, and protecting biodiversity. Experts highlighted the need to change social gender norms and rules to better facilitate women’s contributions. Additionally, the importance of understanding the difference between "gender differences" and "gender inequality" and implementing the measures of women empowerment tailored to local and temporal contexts were emphasized.
Prof. Linxiu Zhang, Director of UNEP-IEMP, delivered a closing remark. She emphasized the necessity and systematization of gender research, hoped that interdisciplinarity would provide a source of innovation for gender studies, and called on policy advocacy institutions, academia and practitioners to work together to achieve gender equality at all levels.
This conference not only offered a practical tool for how to achieve both economic and social benefits for outbound investment, but also provided an opportunity for presentation, reflection, exchange and action on the topic of gender equality and sustainable development.
