On May 23, the “2026 Shanghai Chongming Ecological Island International Forum” was held in Chongming District, Shanghai. With the theme of “Strengthening Biodiversity Conservation and Painting a Picture of Harmonious Coexistence,” this parallel sub-forum was hosted by the People’s Government of Chongming District, and organized by the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy (PRCEE) of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and the Chongming District Bureau of Ecology and Environment.
The forum brought together experts and scholars from UN agencies, government departments, and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, to discuss the future vision of urban biodiversity conservation, focusing on the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
Li Jun, Secretary of the CPC Chongming District Committee, and Hu Jun, Director of the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy (MEE), attended the forum and delivered opening remarks.
Ingrid Coetzee, Director of the ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center (ICLEI CBC), was invited to deliver a video keynote speech titled “International Day for Biodiversity 2026: Acting Locally for Global Impact.”
She emphasized that ICLEI, as a core international organization coordinating local government engagement under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), has a long-standing history of supporting China’s biodiversity efforts. Addressing the upcoming CBD COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia this October, Ingrid shared ICLEI’s roadmap for the 9th Summit of Subnational Governments & Cities. She strongly encouraged more Chinese cities to join the CitiesWithNature platform and to apply for the Biodiversity Charming Cities Awards.
During the forum, the PRCEE and the Chongming District Government jointly released two landmark reports: “Ten-Year Assessment of Ecological Protection and Restoration in the Yangtze River Estuary: The Practice of Building Chongming into a World-Class Ecological Island”and “China’s Practice and Solutions for Building a World-Class Ecological Island.”