National ecology conference held in Kunming

The 18th Ecology Conference of China, hosted by the Ecological Society of China and organized by Yunnan University, was held in Kunming in Yunnan province from  Nov 29 to Dec 1.

More than 3,000 people from 31 provinces, municipalities and regions in China as well as people from other countries working in the ecology sector took part in the event, including participants from universities and research institutes.

Dignitaries attending the event included Fang Jingyun, president of Yunnan University; Eun-Shik Kim, president of the International Association for Ecology; Ouyang Zhiyun, president of the Ecological Society of China and Spencer Barrett, an academician from the Academy of Science at the Royal Society of Canada.

The Ecological Society of China's Ouyang said at the opening ceremony that his organization had made a great contribution to the country's economic and social development, as well as its ecological protection.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Eun-Shik Kim underscored the positive role the Ecological Society of China had played in the ecology sector in the world and hoped there would be more international exchanges and cooperation to come.

Experts and academics participated in forums and discussions during the conference.

Organizers said they exchanged viewpoints on ecological topics, such as China's development of disciplines in the field, research on ecology in the context of big data and current research into global ecology.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Ecological Society of China -- and awards for scientific achievements and for outstanding contributions in the ecology sector were announced during the conference.

Fang Jingyun, president of Yunnan University, received both awards.    

The 18th Ecology Conference of China is held in Kunming, Yunnan province, from Nov 29 to Dec 1. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]

Experts are honored for their outstanding contributions to the ecology sector at the Kunming conference. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]