Beijing, February 9 2017: Dr. Linxiu Zhang took office as the Director of UNEP-IEMP on 1 February 2018. As the successor to the founding director, she is empowered to play UN Environment`s leadership to the development of this Center- the first UN Environment collaborating Center in the South and for the South.
Prior to this, Dr. Zhang was the Director of the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She was a professor of the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and also a professor at University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS). She also served as Board of Trustees member for CIFOR, ICRAF, WorldFish Center and ICIMOD. Since 2011, she has served as the Co-Director of UNEP-IEMP. Together with the Director, she made significant contribution to the establishment of the organization, raised funds for its operation, oversaw daily work, and jointly led the development of work programmes, especially the Flagship Programme on Climate, Ecosystems and Livelihoods as its future strategic direction. These efforts have won her the respect of staff members in UNEP-IEMP as well as the trust and cooperation of many national and international agencies, donors, and partners.
Dr. Zhang received her PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Reading, United Kingdom. She has more than 30 years of research and management experiences focusing on policy relevant studies on rural development, and has published more than 260 peer-reviewed papers. Based on her research, she has submitted to the State Council of China 24 policy briefs which were accepted by top leaders and have made real impacts on policy formulation and improvements. In 2014, she was elected as a fellow of The Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and granted with the “Fudan Management Excellence Award” for her contribution to rural sustainable development in China.
Dr. Zhang is very pleased to start her new role in UNEP-IEMP and looking forward to work with colleagues within UN Environment and Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as partners and collaborators in China and around the World.
