中文On February 6, the 2026 Human Development Report Consultation, jointly hosted by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was successfully held in Beijing.
The opening session was chaired by Academician Bojie Fu of RCEES. Academician Yong-Guan ZHU, Director-General of RCEES, and James George, UNDP Resident Representative ad interim for China, attended the meeting and delivered opening remarks. Josefin Pasanen from the UNDP Human Development Report Office presented the overview of the 2026 Human Development Report.
The academic session was co-chaired by Academician Yong-Guan ZHU and Josefin Pasanen. Academician Bojie Fu, Professor Zhiyun Ouyang, and Associate Professor Junze Zhang presented on “Ecological Restoration for Sustainable Development in China,” “Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) Accounting: to Evaluate and Track Nature's Contribution to People” and “Assessing Progress and Interactions of Sustainable Development Goals: Global and China” respectively. In addition, Nicholas Depsky from the UNDP Human Development Report Office and Professor Erle C. Ellis from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, delivered presentations entitled “Towards HDR2026: Creating a Human Climate Hazard Index” and “2026 HDR Metrics Innovations: Nature Relationship Index” respectively.
The discussion session was moderated by Josefin Pasanen. More than 20 experts and scholars from domestic and international institutions—including the UNDP China Office, the International Ecosystem Management Partnership of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP-IEMP), the University of Maryland, the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Normal University, and Zhejiang Gongshang University—engaged in in-depth discussions on the thematic focus and metric innovations of the 2026 Human Development Report, thereby promoting international academic exchange and cooperation in related fields.
In his concluding remarks, Academician Bojie Fu noted that the consultation constituted a high-quality interdisciplinary dialogue integrating global perspectives with China’s practical experience. He emphasized the importance of further strengthening cooperation between UNDP and Chinese research institutions, establishing regular exchange mechanisms, jointly organizing international workshops, and building expert networks to collectively explore scientific pathways toward harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
State Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology
Department of International Cooperation
February 6, 2026
