Keynote Speakers
主旨演讲嘉宾
Binbin Li
Dr. Binbin Li is Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences at Duke Kunshan University, with a secondary appointment at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Her research explores the synergy between biodiversity conservation and sustainable development under climate change. She focuses on the synergy between biodiversity conservation and sustainable development under climate change. Her research covers conservation planning to promote synergetic solutions to climate change mitigation and human health, One Health framework, endangered and endemic species conservation in China such as giant pandas, sustainable infrastructure building and bird collisions in urban environment. She promotes to use of innovative technology, market tools, citizen science, and policies to solve conservation problems and assist sustainable local community development. Her honors include the 2026 Rolex Award, the 2025 National Geographic Wayfinder Award, and recognition as an EC50 Explorer. She co-chairs the IUCN WCPA Protected Planet Specialist Group and serves on multiple IUCN commissions and the Lancet-PPATS Viral Spillover Commission. Dr. Li is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Integrative Conservation and serves on the editorial boards of Conservation Biology and other journals. A dedicated science communicator, she was named 2022 Nature Photographer of the Year in China. Dr. Li founded the China Anti-bird Collision Action Alliance, the nation’s largest citizen science project, and serves on the board of the SilverLining Conservation Center, which uses media to empower conservation storytelling.
Discussion Panel:
30×30 in the Tropics: Beyond the Numbers
Moderator
The global commitment to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030—known as the “30×30” target—is one of the most ambitious conservation goals ever adopted by the international community. Embedded in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, it represents a collective promise to halt biodiversity loss, safeguard ecosystem functions, and secure nature’s contributions to people (NCP). Yet for the tropics, which harbour the majority of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity and some of its most vulnerable human communities, 30×30 is not simply a numbers game. It forces hard questions about which lands get protected, how protection is enforced, and what counts as success.
The concept is important not only for global policy but also for frontline conservation science and practice in developing regions in the tropics. It tackles how a binding global target can drive national expansion of protected and conserved areas. It also raises critical questions: Are we expanding protection into places that truly matter for biodiversity or simply the cheapest and most politically convenient lands? How do we prevent “paper parks” from inflating progress while delivering little on the ground? Can the 30×30 framework respect Indigenous rights and local livelihoods, while engaging them equitably in the governance? How should we measure and safeguard the material and immaterial benefits that nature‑dependent communities derive from intact ecosystems? And in a rapidly changing climate, how do we design protected area networks that remain functional as connected landscapes?
The panel is moderated by Prof. Binbin Li (Duke Kunshan University) and brings together four leading experts: Prof. James Watson (University of Queensland), Prof. Carly Cook (Monash University), and Prof. Jedediah Brodie (University of Montana). Together, they will examine how 30×30 can move beyond counting hectares—toward quality, justice, and lasting impact for tropical biodiversity and people.