China Session at IAMO Forum 2021

15 June 2021

8 June 2021 – IAMO China Research Group and Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) co-organized a panel session at the IAMO Forum 2021 to systematically discuss the trade-off between natural resource conservation and development in response to the transition to the bioeconomy in China. After the impulse talk by Prof. Anlu Zhang, the chair of China session, five distinguished scholars, Dr. Yan Jin, Prof. Shuyi Feng, Prof. Hang Xiong, Prof. Yinying Cai and Prof. Minjuan Zhao, and three discussants, Prof. Justus Wesseler, Prof. Liangzhi You and Dr. Lioudmila Chatalova, shared their opinions on the resource conservation and development in the transition to bioeconomy. The session was moderated by Dr. Zhanli Sun, and concluded with a summary from Prof. Anlu Zhang.

The lead topic of this year’s IAMO Forum was “Agrifood systems in the bioeconomy” and was held, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as an online conference this year. A sustainable bioeconomy has been a core strategy to reduce the reliance of fossil fuels in Europe. China, as one of the largest transition economies, has fully embraced bioeconomy in its green development strategy to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and fulfill the Paris Agreement even though bioeconomy is still a relatively new concept in China. However, the transition to bioeconomy has great implications for natural resource utilization and management: for example, land-use conflicts between food production and non-food production, environmental problems, ethical issues, regional land use planning and farmland protection.

Against this backdrop, Prof. Anlu Zhang, Dr. Lanjiao Wen, Dr. Lioudmila Chatalova, Prof. Liangzhi You and Dr Zhanli Sun organized a China session at IAMO Forum 2021 to systematically discuss natural resource conservation and development in the transition to bioeconomy from various perspectives. With renowned researchers from various backgrounds as panelists, lively discussions ensued. Prof. Anlu Zhang set the discussion stage with an impulse talk on the bioeconomy in China, which is at the initial stage and highly depends on the strategies of natural resource utilization and management. After that, Dr. Yan Jin from Teagasc, Prof. Shuyi Feng from Nanjing Agricultural University, Prof. Hang Xiong from Huazhong Agricultural University, Prof. Yinying Cai from Huazhong Agricultural University, and Prof. Minjuan Zhao from Northwestern A&F University shared their researches on the GMO acceptance analysis, innovative agricultural extension services, technological adoptions, farmland conservation policies, and the ecosystem values of natural resources. Given the five interesting speeches, Prof. Justus Wesseler, Prof. Liangzhi You and Dr. Lioudmila Chatalova thought highly of them and made constructive comments accordingly. Prof. Anlu Zhang wrapped up the session with a brief summary of issues touched in this session and invited speakers and audience to participate in the upcoming International Conference on Natural Resource Management and Public Policy (October 22-25, 2021, Wuhan, China), jointly organized by HZAU and IAMO.