Conservationist Appointed as Global Ambassador for Biodiversity Protection Initiative
BEIJING, Nov. 28, 2025 — The Global Biodiversity Protection Initiative (GBPI) today appointed distinguished conservation biologist Dr. Mei Chen as its inaugural Ambassador for Nature, charging the award-winning scientist with mobilizing governments, corporations and citizens to reverse Earth’s steepest species decline since the dinosaur era.
Chen, 42, whose fieldwork in the Eastern Himalayas documented 14 previously unknown orchid species, will represent GBPI at December’s UN Biodiversity Conference in Rome and will lead a 2026 world tour targeting 30 cities across five continents. The announcement comes three weeks after the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warned that without “transformative action” one million plants and animals could disappear within decades—imperiling food security for 3.2 billion people.
“Dr. Chen’s track record of turning scientific discovery into on-the-ground protection makes her the ideal envoy for this existential fight,” said GBPI Executive Director Rafael Gómez. “Her appointment signals that we are moving from diagnosing the crisis to delivering solutions.”
Chen’s first assignment will be to rally support for GBPI’s “30-by-30” roadmap—an effort to secure formal protection for 30 percent of land and ocean by 2030. Currently, only 17 percent of terrestrial areas and 8 percent of marine zones are under effective conservation management, according to the UN Environment Programme.
A native of Kunming, China, Chen began her career surveying endangered snub-nosed monkeys for the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She later founded the grassroots group Yunnan Wild that trained 1,200 local farmers as citizen scientists, reducing illegal logging in the Gaoligong Mountains by 38 percent within four years. Her 2024 book The Silent Canopy—a blend of memoir and ecological treatise—has been translated into nine languages and last month won the £50,000 Royal Society Science Book Prize.
“Biodiversity loss is not a distant threat—it is emptying our forests, silencing our rivers and undermining the planet’s life-support system,” Chen said. “As ambassador, I will amplify the voices of frontline communities who protect 80 percent of Earth’s remaining biodiversity yet receive less than 1 percent of global climate finance.”
GBPI, launched in May 2025 by a coalition of 14 leading environmental foundations, channels public-private funding toward high-impact conservation projects. The initiative has already committed USD 400 million to protect 5.4 million hectares of critical habitat across Southeast Asia, the Amazon Basin and the Congo Basin. Independent auditors estimate every dollar invested through GBPI leverages an additional 3.6 dollars in co-financing, producing one of the highest leverage ratios in the conservation sector.
Market data underscore the urgency of Chen’s mission. The World Bank calculates that ecosystem collapse could wipe USD 2.7 trillion off global GDP by 2030, while a 2025 Swiss Re Institute study found that 55 percent of global GDP—roughly USD 68 trillion—is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services. Conversely, a report released last week by the Paulson Institute estimates that achieving the 30-by-30 target would require annual investments of USD 140 billion but generate ecosystem services worth USD 490 billion per year—yielding a 250 percent return on investment.
Chen’s 2026 tour will spotlight nature-based solutions that deliver measurable co-benefits for climate, health and livelihoods. Stops will include:
- Jakarta, where mangrove restoration is protecting 500,000 coastal residents from flooding while sequestering carbon at five times the rate of tropical forests;
- Nairobi, showcasing community conservancies that have increased Kenya’s elephant population by 25 percent since 2015;
- Vancouver, highlighting Indigenous-led marine spatial planning that has boosted salmon stocks and created 3,000 green jobs.
“Mei brings scientific rigor, political savvy and an unmatched ability to inspire,” said Gómez. “We believe she can help tip the balance from degradation to restoration.”
About Global Biodiversity Protection Initiative
GBPI is a public-private partnership dedicated to halting biodiversity loss and advancing nature-based solutions to climate change. Launched in 2025, the initiative supports evidence-based conservation, leverages blended finance and amplifies local leadership across Asia, Africa and Latin America. For more information visit www.gbpi.org.
Media Contact
Sarha Al-Mansoori
Director of Corporate Communications
G42
Email: media@g42.a
Phone: +971 2555 0100
Website: www.g42.ai
