In 2018, it is the 40th anniversary of the construction of the Three-North Afforestation Program of China (abbreviation: Three-North Program). The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), as a third-party agency, was commissioned by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration (SFGA) to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Three-North Program in the past 40 years. The Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is the leading institute of this assessment task.

On July 29, 2018, FANG Yunting, deputy director of the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, paid a visit to Erguna Station and held talks with Chuluun Togtokh, professor of the National University of Mongolia (NUM), on cooperation projects under the “One Belt and One Road Initiative”. WU Yunna, professor and chief of the Student Affairs Department of Dalian Nationalities University participated in the negotiation activities.

The 2018 International Conference on Protective Forests—Commemorate the 40th anniversary of Three-North Afforestation Program (ICPF 2018) was held from August 1st to 4th, 2018, in Shenyang, China. More than 230 experts and scholars in protective forest research from the United States, Britain, Japan, Canada, China and other countries, as well as the builders and managers of the Three-North Afforestation Program attended the conference.

From July 12th to 14th, 2018, the seminar of the Sino-US International Cooperation Major Project “Responses of Grassland Ecosystem to Extreme Climate Events”, co-sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Science Foundation of the United States, was held at Erguna Forest-Steppe Ecotone Research Station, Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as Erguna Station).

On the morning of July 15, the academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former director of the National Meteorological Administration (NMA), QIN Dahe, leading the team members of program “Hulunbeier National Ecological Protection Comprehensive Experimental Zone Construction / Implementation Plan”, paid a visit and investigation to the Erguna forest-grassland transition zone ecosystem research station (Erguna station) of the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). QIN’s visit was accompanied by XU Xiaofeng, deputy director of the NMA, and WANG Jinbao, deputy director of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission.

On July 12, 2018, CAO Xianghui, LI Huan, the two leaders of Tangshan Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), GONG Xuehua, chairman of Hebei Tianshan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., DONG Wencheng, chairman of Tangshan Lvzhiyuan Agricultural Corporation, and CHEN Zhijie, general manager of Wanshida Agricultural Corporation visited the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of CAS. Prof. FANG Yunwei, deputy director of IAE, hosted the visitors. The visitors and the relevant exports from IAE (Prof. CHEN Xin, Prof. CHEN Wei, Prof. HAO Guangyou, senior engineer MA Jiangao, senior engineer JIANG Zhiyang, and JING Hongshuang, deputy division chief of Science and Technology Division of IAE) held a symposium discussing the potential cooperation.

On July 3, 2018, the progress reporting seminar of the 2nd project (“Key Technology and Product Development for Biodegradation of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals” 2017YFD0800702) of the National Key Research and Development Program “Technology and Product Development for Prevention and Control of Toxic and Hazardous Chemical / Biological Pollutions in Agricultural Systems” was held at the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

From June 19th to 23th, 2018, the International Workshop on “Maintenance of the Healthy Ecosystem and Biodiversity Conservation”, co-organized by the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the CAS’s Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, was successfully held in Yanji City, Jilin Province.

On June 14th, the signing and plaque-unveiling ceremony of the Shouguang Facility Agriculture Research Center of the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Center’) was held at the Shouguang R&D Center of the National Modern Vegetable Seed Industry Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base. IAE and the Shouguang Municipal Government of Shandong Province jointly established this Center. The inaugural meeting of the center council was held at the same time.

On June 15, a plaque-awarding ceremony was held at the Erguna Forest-Steppe Ecotone Research Station (hereinafter referred to as “Erguna Station”). LI Fenghua, member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and minister of Municipal Organization Department of Erguna City (i.e., Ergun City), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, awarded Erguna Station the plaque of “Erguna Ecological Grassland Development and Innovation Base”. Erguna Station received the honor in December 2017 in the selection of the 3rd Hulunbeier Talents’ Innovation Base.