Zhou Jinfeng Is Invited Deliver a Keynote at the International Conference of Arboreta Around the World — Share Your Knowledge on Biodiversity
2019/9/25 14:00:00 本站

The Secretary-General of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) Dr. Zhou Jinfeng has been invited to deliver a keynote speech at the international conference of “Arboreta Around the World — Share Your Knowledge on Biodiversity”, which will take place on 10-11 October, 2019, in Firenze e Vallombrosa, Italy.

 

This 2-day conference will be hosted to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Forestry Institute and Experimental Arboreta in Vallombrosa and acknowledge the historical and conservation value of arboreta at the global level. The conference will also provide an opportunity to debate the benefits of networking and partnerships and discuss future challenges, thus providing a platform to exchange best practices in management, conservation and education.

 

Dr. Zhou Jinfeng has been invited to address the panel theme — “In-situ and Ex-situ Conservation”. This panel will focus specifically on threatened trees and integrated in-situ/ ex-situ measures that can act and protect where most needed. Dr. Zhou Jinfeng will approach this theme by presenting CBCGDF’s innovative Community Conservation Area (CCAfa) system, which was pioneered by Dr. Zhou Jinfeng in 2016, in accordance with the Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 that calls for “at least 17 percent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas” to be conserved by way of “well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs)”.

 

As of now, over 120 CCAfa’s have been established in 30 provinces throughout China, protecting a wide range of animal and plant species and their living habitats (e.g. wetlands and forests). Both in-situ and ex-situ conservation have been performed. The Community Conservation Area for Great Bustard in Changyuan (the 1st CCAfa) is typical for CBCGDF’s in-situ conservation, devoted to saving the endangered Great Bustards via e.g. improved area connectivity, action according to real situations, educational awareness campaigns, better local livelihoods, cooperation with local government, and voluntary patrols against illegal hunting etc. The ex-situ conservation may be best exemplified by the Community Conservation Area for Acer Pentaphyllum in Tianshui. Acer Pentaphyllum is an endangered plant species unique to China, and CBCGDF’s intervention has successfully restored it from only around 500 initially to over 10,000 now. The Acer Pentaphyllum case also reflects the common conflict between economic development and biodiversity conservation, i.e. the ex-situ conservation was made essential because of one hydropower cascade development plan in the natural habitat of Acer Pentaphyllum.

 

Apart from Dr. Zhou Jinfeng’s panel, the conference will also include three other panels on “Botanic Gardens and Arboreta through Time”, “Management of Tree Collections” and “Networking and Partnerships”.

 

It is noteworthy that the conference venue is located in the historical Benedictine Abbey, where through the years many of researchers and scholars in Forestry and Tree Heritage have enjoyed a unique setting and opportunity to share the experience and science in Vallombrosa Arboreta.

 

Stay tuned for more news from the international conference of “Arboreta Around the World — Share Your Knowledge on Biodiversity” on CBCGDF's platforms.


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(Photo credit: The organizer of the event)


By / Lu Lei