The Establishment of the International Scientists Alliance for the Belt and Road Initiative Has Driven Demand for Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Along the Silk Road

From 2005 to 2015, a research team led by Academician Sun Jiulin of the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, organized nearly 10 transnational comprehensive scientific expeditions and academic exchange activities in regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative. This established a strong foundation for cooperation with scientists from many countries along the Belt and Road, resulting in numerous internationally influential research findings. Building on this foundation, the team hosted the first International Symposium on Ecological Environment and Sustainable Development of the Silk Road Economic Belt and jointly established the "Belt and Road International Scientists Alliance" with over 100 scientists from more than 30 research institutions along the Belt and Road.

Since its establishment, the Scientists Alliance has achieved numerous scientific and technological cooperation results, including conducting a series of international scientific expeditions and establishing a basic geographical and resource environment database covering 66 countries and regions along the Belt and Road. Simultaneously, the Alliance proposed for the first time nine major international scientific issues supporting the construction and sustainable development of the Belt and Road Initiative through scientific and technological innovation. These include the evaluation of resource and environmental carrying capacity and ecosystem service functions in the Belt and Road region, as well as the scientific and technological issues related to the monitoring, early warning, and management of transnational desertification, drought, soil erosion, and disruptive natural disasters along the Belt and Road. All of these factors will drive countries and regions along the Belt and Road to pay more attention to and cooperate on ecological and environmental protection issues.

It is understood that the environmental protection capabilities of countries along the Belt and Road are relatively weak, requiring support from my country's environmental protection industry and technology. Currently, some Chinese wastewater and air pollution control companies have already taken the lead in international exports, laying a solid foundation. Environmental monitoring instruments, due to their high quality and low price, are exported to developing countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Some environmental protection companies have cooperated with multinational corporations or introduced foreign capital, achieving international exports of equipment manufacturing and technical services.

Sun Jiulin, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Researcher at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, stated: "The Belt and Road Initiative covers many countries and involves numerous major transnational and cross-border scientific and technological issues. To fully leverage the scientific and technological support role of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it is essential to first utilize the role of scientific and technological think tanks and implement the Belt and Road International Think Tank Network and Collaborative Innovation Platform Construction and Cultural Exchange Science and Technology Support Plan. Currently, there are no international scientific organizations or international scientific programs related to the Belt and Road Initiative worldwide." The Belt and Road Initiative National Research Institutions and Scientists Alliance is implementing the Belt and Road Initiative Special Project "Research on the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor and Northeast Revitalization Strategy" of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. At the same time, the Ministry of Science and Technology has launched the National Science and Technology Basic Resources Survey Special Project "Multidisciplinary Joint Investigation of the China-Mongolia-Russia International Economic Corridor". These projects provide high-end international think tank and science and technology strategy consulting support for the decision-making of the Belt and Road Initiative and national governance.