Xingkai Lake, Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province, September 26. 2023. /CGTN

A forum on ecosystem conservation and food security wrapped up in Heilongjiang Province's Jixi City. The event was the first of its kind under UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Programme, an intergovernmental scientific initiative aimed at improving the relationships between people and environments.

More than 100 scholars and scientists from over 20 countries gathered at Xingkai Lake, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. The unique setting served as an ideal backdrop for discussions on the relationship between ecological conservation and food security. Locals there are actively engaged in preserving biodiversity and promoting its sustainable use.

Zhu Hui, September 26. 2023. /CGTN

"We share our ideas, the management experience since the implementation of the ecosystem conservation requires not just science but also the power input by all parties," said Zhu Hui, the deputy director of Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Xingkai Lake, Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province, September 26. 2023. /CGTN

Xingkai Lake is in Heilongjiang, a region often referred to as China's granary. The province has been a proponent of sustainable agricultural development for quite some time.

Scientists emphasize that biospheres are home to diverse ecosystems, which provide a reliable source of food on Earth.

Take the wetlands and forests in Xingkai Lake, for instance. Straddling the border between China and Russia, Xingkai Lake is known as a natural reservoir for biodiversity.

Matei Simionov, September 26. 2023. /CGTN

"The state-of-the-art solution here in Heilongjiang Province is replicated in our region because we were facing some periods of hydrological droughts, and I learned that the clay compounds in the black soil can help us retain agricultural output," Matei Simionov, a senior engineer from the Danube Delta National Institute told CGTN.

As a laboratory of ideas, UNESCO has assisted countries in adopting international standards and managing programs that foster the free exchange of ideas.

These ideas have led to a growing consensus that ecological and biodiversity conservation can safeguard food production, even in the face of conflicts over land and water worldwide.

Shahbaz Khan, September 26. 2023. /CGTN

"As not much time is left in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as we are in 2023. and the deadline is 2030. So we are trying to learn from China's experience, also experience from other countries. Also bringing older scientists and younger scientists together, so there is continuity," said Professor Shahbaz Khan, the director of UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office for East Asia.

Jiang Ming, September 26. 2023. /CGTN

"As the organizer, the agenda of the forum is in line with the expertise of our institute. Our divisions like wetland conservation, remote sensing and agricultural ecology can be highly interacted with the topics discussed at the event," said Jiang Ming, the director of the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

While the forum wrapped up with the declaration "Youth in a World with a Shared Future," it provided an opportunity for in-depth and wide-ranging discussions on ecosystem conservation and food security, aiming to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals not only in China but also around the world.