Foreword from the Dean
Winter is coming to an end and spring is coming to us. At this moment, on behalf of the College of the Environment and Ecology (CEE), we would like to express our most sincere greetings and best wishes to all faculty, staff, students, retirees, alumni around the world and friends who care about the state of the College.
The year of 2021 has been a year of landmarks. The Communist Party of China celebrated its centenary; and the “two centuries” goals are rising above the horizon. The green indicators in the Government's Work Report attracted much attention; the “double carbon” target was deeply rooted in people's hearts; and “Building a Community of All Life on Earth” struck a resonating chord with the international community. The world became wider and the responsibility became heavier for the people in CEE. Standing at the new starting point of the 100th anniversary of Xiamen University and the 10th anniversary of the College, the College of CEE has been thoroughly studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, adhering to the fundamental task of strengthening morality and educating students, promoting the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic as well as the development of “double first-class”, and continuously making new progresses in various aspects.
The year of 2021 has been a year of progresses. We improved the effectiveness of our team building. We received funding supports from one “Special Talent of Fujian Provincial Hundred Talents Plan”, one awardee of “Fujian Provincial Special Reserve Talent”, one awardee of the “National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars” and one awardee of the “Young Top-notch Talent of Fujian Provincial Chuying Plan”. We strengthened our research and capabilities of innovation. We received 23 new research projects sponsored by the central government, including one project of the National Key Scientific Instrument and Equipment Development Project, one key project and one carbon neutrality special project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and 90 new research projects funded by the enterprises and government institutions. The total research funding has reached 60 million RMB. An editorial article “Biodiversity Conservation in a Changing Environment beyond 2020” by Professor Yonglong Lu and a British scientist was published as a cover paper in Science Advances and was featured in Science. We continued to serve local and national governments for strategies and development. We undertook an investigation and assessment project on the changes of rivers and estuaries in Fujian Province, and made scientific governance recommendations. We submitted nine policy proposals related to the “Strong Ocean Province” and “Blue Carbon Economy”, two of which were filed and two were approved. We built a high-level platform for exchanges and cooperation. We also held the International Symposium on Coastal Ecosystems and Global Change, the 2021 Cross-Strait Environment and Ecology Symposium and the Lingfeng Summer Research Forum on the theme of international talent training. We held the 15th Lingfeng Summer Research School in collaboration with Lund University, Tohoku University, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Texas A&M University and other partner institutions.
The year of 2021 has been a year of breakthroughs. We fulfilled our dream of building a national station. The National Observation and Research Station for the Taiwan Strait Marine Ecosystem was officially approved, being the first national station of our university. The building of Zhangjiang Estuary Wetland Ecosystem Field Research and Teaching Base was officially opened, providing hardware support and giving assistance to for scientific research and teaching practice of in the field of Ecology and Environmental Science. The voice of CEE has been heard on a global stage. Prof. Yonglong Lu was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the Ten-Member Group of the UN Technology Facilitation Mechanism on Sustainable Development Goals; and he also co-led the report “Governing Coastal Resources: Implications for a Sustainable Blue Economy” with other international experts, released by the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean. The "Quality Project" for education has achieved excellent results. The major of Ecology and the major of Environmental Science were selected as the national first-class undergraduate majors, and the major of Ecological Engineering for Environmental Sustainability was selected as a first-class undergraduate major in Fujian Province. The Animal Biology (5th Edition) written by Prof. Xiaolin Chen and Prof. Wenzhen Fang won the second prize of the first National Excellent Textbook Award, and the Marine Ecology (4th Edition) written by Prof. Lingfeng Huang and other professors was selected as the "Undergraduate Planning Textbook for General Higher Education in the 14th Five-Year Plan of the Science Press".
The year of 2021 has been a year of retrospection. We celebrated the 10th anniversary of the founding of our college. Ten years of hard work; ten years of excellence. At this moment, we look back, draw lessons and look forward to the future. In March, the history of the College was published. In June, the 10th Anniversary conference was held, and the promotional film "Ten Years" and the album "Ten Years" were officially released, which comprehensively summarized a series of achievements made since the establishment of the College. Meanwhile, the construction of the College's discipline exhibition hall was completed. Our students and faculty members were able to understand the history and current situation of the College and its disciplines in a more intuitive way, further stimulating the pride and sense of mission of all persons in the CEE and gathering strength for a new start.
The year of 2021 has been a year of planning. We consulted experts and made scientific plans. We held the "Seminar on Ecology for a New Era", which brought together 150 experts and scholars in the field of Ecology from nearly 60 institutions to discuss and exchange ideas and approaches for the development of contemporary Ecology Discipline. We organized a number of seminars and invited renowned experts to discuss the new round of world-class Ecology Discipline developing plan. We completed the change of the administrative leadership team of the College. Our new leadership team actively carried out a series of investigations to identify the urgent problems, clarified the ideas for the College in the new stage, and accelerated the planning of a new round of high-quality development of the College.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the staff, students, retirees, alumni and friends for their support and assistance in 2021.
Those who plan well will go far; and those who work hard will be successful. In 2022, CEE people will continue to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and continue to strive to build the College into the talent training base and research center in the field of Environmental Science Ecology with significant international influence, contributing more "green power" to build a better home.