Uniting for nature: Joint conference advances Pacific Rim biodiversity and sustainability

Led by Prof. Jerome Hui (front left), the event brings together researchers, students and stakeholders to share insights on ecosystem protection and the impacts of climate change on biodiversity.

Hosted by the School of Life Sciences (SLS), the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) x Earth BioGenome Project Hong Kong (EBPHK): Joint International Conference on Biodiversity, Conservation, Genomics, and Sustainability was held at CUHK during 15-17 February. The event brought together over 120 researchers, students, and other stakeholders from 17 universities and other organisations from eight economies to share insights into biodiversity, conservation, genomics, and sustainability, against the dramatic backdrop of over a million species being under the threat of extinction.

CUHK Provost Prof. Alan Chan, who serves on the steering committee of the APRU Pacific Rim Biodiversity and Sustainability Programme, warmly welcomed the participants at the opening ceremony. He stressed the significance of collaboration in achieving the goals of sustainability.

Some 50 speakers delved deeply into a wide range of topics, including genetics and genome evolutionary biology research in response to climate change, biodiversity of bacteria, fungi, insects and plants, human-environment interactions for sustainable cities and sustainable lifestyles, as well as biodiversity education.

The conference was complemented with a field trip to Tai O, a traditional fishing village on Lantau Island that is endowed with a wide variety of natural habitats and species of animals and plants with conservation value.

The APRU Pacific Rim Biodiversity and Sustainability Programme was established in 2021, drawing its strength from APRU member institutions which represent a significant portion of the world’s research and knowledge capabilities on biodiversity. The programme is led by Prof. Jerome Hui from CUHK and Prof. Nathan Lo from the University of Sydney.

To read more, please refer to the news on APRU website.