Successful convening of 4th thematic forum
On August 19, 2025, the 4th Europe-China Eco-Environmental Forum for Young Scholars was successfully held in the form of a combination of online and offline. The main venue is located at the Beijing Hairun Aliva Hotel, and the online live broadcast will be conducted to the world. Hosted by the European Chinese Ecological Environment Association (ECAEE), this forum aims to build a platform for exchanges and cooperation for young Chinese scholars engaged in ecology and environment-related research in Europe, create an open, diverse, and collision of ideas, stimulate enthusiasm for theoretical innovation and practical exploration, and deepen international cooperation and discussion on cutting-edge issues in the ecological environment in the context of the new era.
The forum specially invited Dragan Savić, Academician of the European Academy of Sciences and the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Dr. Liu Zhengxuan, Executive Chairman of the Marie Curie Scholars Chinese Society, to deliver speeches. Twenty-two outstanding young scholars from 9 European countries including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and the "Belt and Road" countries participated in the forum, including young university teachers, German Humboldt scholars, Marie Curie scholars and postdoctoral researchers. Participating scholars engaged in in-depth discussions and explored innovative solutions on cutting-edge topics such as water treatment technology, climate change response, circular economy, and environmental health, combined with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
On January 31, 2026, the Fourth European Chinese Ecological and Environmental Young Scholars Forum - Digital Ecology and Environmental Health Special Session was successfully held online. Organized by the European Chinese Association for Ecology and Environment (ECAEE), this forum aimed to establish a platform for communication and collaboration among young Chinese scholars engaged in ecological and environmental research in Europe, foster an open, diverse, and intellectually stimulating academic atmosphere, ignite enthusiasm for theoretical innovation and practical exploration, and deepen international cooperation and discussion on cutting-edge issues in ecology and the environment in the context of the new era.
The forum featured speeches by Mr. Cai Yaoyang, Chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, and Professor Liu Gang from the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Sixteen outstanding young scholars from six European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, were invited to participate. These scholars included young faculty members, Alexander von Humboldt Fellows, Marie Curie Fellows, and postdoctoral researchers. They engaged in in-depth discussions on frontier topics such as green ecology, watershed management, climate change, and environmental health, in conjunction with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and explored innovative solutions.
The forum consisted of four special sessions: (1) Circular Economy and Sustainable Development; (2) Watershed Management and Green Solutions; (3) Water Treatment and Resource Recovery; and (4) Green Ecology and Environmental Health. The presentations were captivating, and the discussions were lively, with a cumulative online viewership of 10,000. The forum received support from academic journals such as Water Ecology, Fundamental Research, Separation and Purification Technology, Chinese Chemical Letters, and Cambridge Prisms: Water, and assistance from companies including Aoliu (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd.
During the forum, Associate Professor Ding An, the Vice Chairman of the association, provided a detailed introduction to the special issues organized by the association, particularly highlighting the recently launched Separation and Purification Technology (VSI: Europe-China Collaboration) and Cambridge Prisms: Water (VSI: Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Water Management). Dr. Jin Wei introduced the Water & Ecology journal and invited everyone to pay attention to it and actively submit their manuscripts.
The recipient of the Best Presentation Award at this forum was Associate Professor Heran Zheng from the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction at University College London. His main research interests include the construction of global industrial chain databases, sustainable production and consumption, etc. He has published over 90 academic papers in journals such as Nature Climate Change, Nature Sustainability, and PNAS. She has been elected as the Co-Chair of the Environmental Extended Input-Output (EEIO) Division of the International Society for Industrial Ecology, an expert for the Energy Economics Project of the Asian Development Bank, and has received honors such as the Global Top 2% Highly Cited Scholar and the Top Cited Paper Award from Environmental Research Letters. He also serves on the editorial boards of journals including Communications Earth and Environment, Energy and Climate Management, and Carbon Footprint.
