The 16th Cross-Strait Constructed Wetland Symposium was held in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, from August 28 to September 6, 2026. (Credit: IHB)

The 16th Cross-Strait Constructed Wetland Symposium was held in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, from August 28 to September 6, 2026. More than 200 experts, scholars, and engineering and technical managers from over 50 universities, research institutes, and enterprises across the Taiwan Strait attended the symposium.

The symposium was jointly organized by the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; China University of Geosciences (Wuhan); the Water Resources Research Center of Sun Yat-sen University (Taiwan); the Taiwan Wetland Society; and Wuhan Textile University, and hosted by Xi'an University of Technology. It was co-organized by the National Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Areas, the Environmental Biology Branch of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, Shaanxi Weilan Energy-Saving Environmental Technology Group Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Biyuan Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., and the Hubei Key Laboratory of Wetland Evolution and Ecological Restoration.

At the opening ceremony, speeches were delivered by MIAO Wei, director of IHB; Academician WANG Yanxin of China University of Geosciences (Wuhan); WU Yan, deputy director-general of the Bureau of International Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; LIU Yunhe, President of Xi'an University of Technology; Lee Hong-yuan of Taiwan University; Lin Hsing-Juh, honorary chairman of the Taiwan Wetland Society; HUANG Chunhui of Wuhan Textile University; and BAI Chongjun, deputy director-general of the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment. XU Zhen, Deputy Director of IHB, chaired the ceremony.

The symposium featured eight keynote reports, 38 plenary reports, and 34 papers and 14 posters. Keynote speakers included Academician HOU Li'an of the National Expert Committee on Emerging Pollutant Treatment, Professor Lee Hong-yuan of Taiwan University, Academician HE Shunping of IHB, Professor Yeh Shin-Cheng of Taiwan Normal University, ZHENG Zheng of Fudan University, Professor ZHAO Yaqian of Xi'an University of Technology, Professor Yang Lei of Sun Yat-sen University, and Professor WU Zhenbin of IHB. Their talks covered emerging pollutant treatment, climate change adaptation, eDNA-based biodiversity monitoring, nature-based solutions, carbon reduction, and wetland governance. A consensus on cross-strait watershed system governance was read out at the closing ceremony.

A special seminar on "Cross-Strait Joint Governance of a River" discussed cooperation mechanisms, a demonstration project for the Fu-Huan River, field surveys, and plans for a cross-strait expert committee and a cross-strait watershed system governance research institute. Participants also visited the Chanba National Wetland Park, the Lintong Sanli River Urban Constructed Wetland, the Huayin Changjian River Ecological Constructed Wetland, and the Fengxi New City Dawang Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Launched in 2008 by Professor WU Zhenbin of IHB, Professor Yang Lei of Sun Yat-sen University, and others, the Cross-Strait Constructed Wetland Symposium was founded to promote academic exchange and practical cooperation in constructed wetland research across the Taiwan Strait. Over the past 16 sessions, it has been held in Wuhan, Kaohsiung, Haikou, Taipei, Yichang, Hangzhou, Chiayi, Yinchuan, Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao, Kaohsiung, Wuhan, Guilin, Taichung, Jinan, and Xi'an.

The symposium has attracted about 5,000 participants, including more than 50 senior experts such as academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. It has featured more than 800 papers and 650 presentations, covering a wide range of topics in wetland science, ecological engineering, and environmental governance.

Over the years, the symposium has become an important platform for experts, scholars, and engineering and technical managers from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to share research results and deepen cooperation in theoretical exploration, technological development, and engineering applications. It has also helped advance public understanding of wetland conservation, the progress of ecological engineering technologies, and the growth of the ecological restoration industry.

A special seminar on "Cross-Strait Joint Governance of a River" discussed cooperation mechanisms, a demonstration project for the Fu-Huan River, field surveys, and plans for a cross-strait expert committee and a cross-strait watershed system governance research institute. (Credit: IHB)

Participants visited the Chanba National Wetland Park. (Credit: IHB)