Shenzhen, September 23, 2026
On the morning of September 23, the Chinese edition of The Global Biodiversity Standard: Manual for Assessment and Best Practices (hereinafter referred to as the “TGBS Manual”) was officially released at the 16th National Conference on Biodiversity Science and Conservation, held at Sun Yat-sen University Shenzhen Campus. Nearly 200 experts, scholars, and graduate students witnessed the release on site.
The release ceremony was hosted by Professor Liu Xiaojuan of the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. CAS Academician Ma Keping, a renowned ecologist, Chair of the Bureau of the International Coordinating Council of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, and Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Biodiversity Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Professor Chu Chengjin, Dean of the School of Ecology at Sun Yat-sen University; and Professor Hua Fangyuan of the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University jointly unveiled the Chinese edition of the TGBS Manual.
Academician Ma Keping wrote the foreword for the Chinese edition and delivered remarks on site. He said: “The TGBS Manual is an important reference. Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, China has committed to planting 70 billion trees, but where to plant them and how to make the planting biodiversity-friendly are urgent issues that need to be addressed. This requires evaluating restoration projects from the perspective of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Restoration projects should not only look at coverage; they must also consider biodiversity, ecosystem integrity, and social benefits, among other factors.”
Dr. David Bartholomew, Secretary-General of TGBS, sent a video address to the release ceremony. He congratulated the successful release of the Chinese edition of the TGBS Manual, thanked the translation team for their efforts, and thanked Academician Ma Keping for his recognition and recommendation of the manual’s content. He particularly noted that the forest restoration plot at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) is the world’s first project to receive a TGBS assessment rating of “Premium Tier” and is a highly successful case among restoration projects. He hoped that the publication of the Chinese edition would provide a reference for ecological restoration projects in China, and that the TGBS assessment methods and standards would play an increasingly greater role.
Other guests attending the release ceremony included: Professor Fan Pengfei of the School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, and Council Member of the Mammalogical Society of China; Professor Lu Hongfang of the South China National Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Professor Mao Lingfeng, Dean of the College of Ecology and Environment at Nanjing Forestry University; Dr. Zhang Yingyi, Founder and Secretary-General of the Shenzhen Zhilan Foundation; Dr. Yan Baohua, Council Member and Secretary-General of the Mangrove Conservation Foundation (MCF); Ms. Zheng Yangjie, Founder of Good to Nature; and Dr. Stephan Gale, Head of the Flora Conservation Department at KFBG, among others. Ms. Wen Xiangying, Executive Director of BGCI China, was unable to attend in person due to a conflict with another meeting, but she has been promoting the implementation of TGBS in China and closely following the translation and official release of the Chinese edition.
According to reports, the TGBS Manual was jointly developed by leading organizations in biodiversity science and ecological restoration, including Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER), the Plan Vivo Foundation, the Center for International Forestry Research–World Agroforestry Centre (CIFOR-ICRAF), the International Wildlife Trade Research Group (TRAFFIC), and Ecosia. Its English edition was released in October 2024 at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), held in Colombia. The Chinese edition was translated by Tian Yuan, Liao Chenwei, and Liao Huipeng of the Hua Fangyuan’s lab at the Institute of Ecology, Peking University, coordinated by Hua Fangyuan, and reviewed and proofread by Zhu Huiling and Zhang Jinlong of KFBG’s Flora Conservation Department.
In addition to the more than 80 print copies released and distributed free of charge at the event, the Chinese edition of the TGBS Manual can also be downloaded free of charge.
Written by: Zhang Jinlong, Zhu Huiling
Reviewed by: Chu Chengjin, Xu Xuehong, Liu Xiaojuan, Wen Xiangying
