The CBCGDF Green Link International Cooperation Fund Established

China and Mongolia launched a public welfare project to combat desertification.

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation(CBCGDF), on August 27, 2024,  the Academic Conference on Building Ecological Security Barrier and Green Development & The Green Link International Cooperation Fund Establishment Conference were held in the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing. The conferences were cohosted by China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) and the Belt and Road International Federation of Scientific Organizations (ANSO).

HU Deping, Founding Chairman of CBCGDF, SUN Honglie, former Executive Vice President and Academician of CAS, Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the International Scientists Union of the Belt and Road, XIE Boyang, chairman of CBCGDF attended the conference.

In recent years, the number and intensity of dust and sandstorms in northern China have increased due to the unusual impact of climate change. In particular, dust storms originating from Mongolia have not only caused serious disasters in the country, but also affected China and neighboring countries and regions. It is urgent for China and Mongolia to cooperate in building a northern ecological security barrier to prevent cross-border transmission of dust and sand. With the theme of “Combating Sand and Dust, Protecting the Homeland and Green Development”, the conference focused on further promoting the concept of “Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth”, promoting in-depth cooperation between public welfare organizations and scientific research institutes, and organizing public welfare actions for cross-border biodiversity conservation. Scientists, experts and scholars from public welfare organizations, and representatives from the business community exchanged views and discussed. At the conference, the recently established CBCGDF Green Link International Cooperation Fund held a plaque-unveiling ceremony, and the China-Mongolia typical demonstration ecological science and technology public welfare project on sand prevention and green development was officially launched.

LIU Shu，Former Vice Chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology and Honorary Chairman of CBCGDF, Xenya Scanlon, the Chief of Communications, External Relations and Partnerships with the UNCCD congratulated on the opening of the conference. YI Zhijun, Deputy Director of the Secretariat of ANSO, LIU Jiaqi, Academician of CAS, Former Director General of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, CAS, ZHAO Xinyan, Expert Committee Member of the former State Power Investment Corporation, Deputy Director of the Scientific Committee of the International Scientists Union of the Belt and Road attended the conference and delivered the opening speech.

 “The survival and development of human society and the natural world are constantly exchanging and trading, and this exchange is our production and life, once the ‘deficit’ of this transaction, bringing serious overdraft to nature, any so-called dividends of human activities will be worthless. It is hoped that the Green Link International Cooperation Fund can gather more enterprises to pay common attention to the public welfare cause of green development, and at the same time, desertification prevention and control require a change in the overall social climate and more scientific planning.” HU Deping said.

SUN Honglie said that we not only need to set goals, but also need to practice and gradually implement, and hope to select several typical demonstration areas to study how to scientifically build ecological safety barriers.

At the Academic Conference on Building Ecological Security Barrier and Green Development, scientists from China and Mongolia jointly gave the keynote report. DONG Suocheng, Chairman of the International Scientists Union of the Belt and Road,  said that from 2016 to the present, China and Mongolia have carried out several multidisciplinary joint scientific expeditions. In August 2023, they searched for the source of dust storms and sandstorms in Mongolia in the northwestern part of the Mongolian Plateau. The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences have carried out tree planting and grass planting projects to prevent sandstorms in Choyr, Mongolia, and jointly established an experimental demonstration base for the construction of ecological shelter belts and forest planting to prevent desertification in the Govisümber Province, and have made good progress in research and construction demonstrations.

“Mongolia had experienced significant climate change, with temperatures rising from 0.9℃ to 2.4℃. Mongolia’s disasters and extreme weather events caused by climate and environmental change, such as dust storms and desertification, had become more pronounced in recent years. In order to address climate change, Mongolia has announced at the UN General Assembly the ‘Plan to Plant One Billion Trees by 2030’, and the challenge of climate change is a transboundary issue, which makes it necessary to continuously monitor the environment and, on this basis, to expand the collaboration of scientists at the international level, including with public interest organizations, such as the Green Link International Cooperation Fund.” Avirmed Dashtseren, Chief Scientist of China Mongolia Desertification Prevention and Control Cooperation Center, Director of the Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences said.

WANG Juanle, Researcher of Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resources, CAS, Deputy Director of Research Office of Geodata Science and Sharing, suggested that a network platform for big data sharing and collaborative innovation on ecological environment and green development could be set up with the help of public welfare organizations, allowing collaborators from all parties to visualize and understand the changes in the scenarios brought about by their public welfare donations, and to contribute to environmental governance and green development on the Mongolian plateau.

At the Green Link International Cooperation Fund Establishment Conference, XIE Boyang awarded DONG Suocheng the appointment letter of Chief Scientist of the Green Link International Cooperation Fund. Dr. ZHOU Jinfeng, Secretary-General of CBCGDF, introduced that the establishment of the Green Link International Cooperation Fund is a practical measure for CBCGDF to promote the concept of building a community of human and natural life and help the construction of a multilateral cooperation platform for green development along the Belt and Road.

In his speech at the conference, LV Tongyu said: “Although our Green Link International Cooperation Fund is small in strength, it has a long way to go. It is our fervent hope that we will join hands and work together to leave a colourful world for future generations!”

After the unveiling ceremony, ZHANG Shenjin, Secretary General of the National Federation of Industry and Commerce Paper Industry Chamber of Commerce, Xin Yan, Deputy Chief Editor of Douyin Group and General Manager of Head Content Center, and Lu Dan, Executive Vice General Manager of China Youth Travel Service Resources Investment Co., Ltd. and Chairman of China Youth Travel Service International Tourism Investment (Beijing) Co., Ltd made speeches at the conference.

Representatives of the Green Link International Cooperation Fund, the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Geography and Earth Ecology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences held a signing ceremony for cooperation on public welfare projects. According to the plan, the partners will join hands with the government departments of Bayankhongor and Govisümber Province to establish an international pilot base for combating desertification on the southward route of the Siberian Cold Stream and Mongolian dust storms. This is one of the Mongolian provinces most affected by the dust and sandstorms, as well as the most important Gobi desert area affecting the ecological security of China and even Northeast Asia. The project team will focus on combating desertification pilot base, which will attract global enterprises, colleges, institutions, individual volunteers to participate in the construction of greening and sand prevention scientific experimental bases and typical demonstration zones for green development. Through cooperating in the construction of environmental and ecological monitoring system, carrying out scientific research, green planting, exchanges, eco-education and other public welfare activities, it will help create green ecological public products with international influence.

The project team of the Green Link International Cooperation Fund expressed the hope that after the efforts of the next two years, the Institute of Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Green Link International Combating Desertification Pilot Area Base in Mongolia and the Mongolian Plateau Sand and Dust Scientific Monitoring System Network Public Benefit Platform can be displayed in front of the representatives of more than 190 parties around the world during the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Mongolia in 2026.

Edited by: YJ
Checked By: Maggie
Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776

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