TERRAenVISION
China 2027
Nature-based solutions to facilitate the transitions for living within the planetary boundaries. A global NBS conference in a living delta.
The Yellow River Delta as a real-world laboratory
TERRAenVISION 2027 takes place on 18–21 October 2027 in Dongying, Shandong Province. The meeting uses the Yellow River Delta as an open, real-world laboratory for examining how Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) can reconcile food production, salinity management, biodiversity conservation, water security, coastal resilience, industrial transition and community well-being.
The scientific identity remains fully aligned with TERRAenVISION’s established mission: bringing researchers, practitioners, policy makers, finance, industry and society together to accelerate transitions that keep development within planetary boundaries. The Dongying edition adds a strong host focus on coastal systems and implementation: how solutions are designed, attributed, monitored, financed, governed and scaled.
Why Dongying
A globally important estuary where UNESCO World Heritage migratory-bird habitats, a Ramsar wetland, saline agriculture, wetland restoration and a petroleum-based regional economy coexist within one compact landscape.
Why late October
Harvest-season landscapes, autumn bird migration and generally cooler conditions than summer create a strong scientific and experiential setting for field-based learning.
Organising committee
Ying Zhao
Ludong University
Supported by
From science to implementation
Use the Yellow River Delta to demonstrate how NBS can be scientifically credible, ecologically safe, socially legitimate, economically realistic and measurable over time.
Advance international understanding of NBS in deltas, coasts, saline lands and coupled human–natural systems.
Compare implementation pathways across agriculture, wetlands, cities, industry and natural-hazard management.
Strengthen evidence on effectiveness, attribution, durability, trade-offs, unintended effects and boundary conditions.
Connect Chinese demonstration landscapes with the wider TERRAenVISION network and develop durable partnerships.
Create meaningful roles for early-career scientists, local managers, practitioners, communities, companies and policy makers.
Deliver practical outputs that survive beyond the conference: an action agenda, cases, methods, projects and training.
Five themes, one delta
TERRAenVISION is framed around Nature-Based Solutions that help society transition toward living within planetary boundaries. Its distinctive value is the deliberate interaction among science, practical solutions, policy, finance, industry and wider society, not simply the presentation of disciplinary research.
NBS for agriculture and natural areas
Saline agriculture, soil health, wetlands, coastal vegetation, biodiversity and landscape mosaics
NBS for natural hazards
Floods, droughts, storm surge, erosion, subsidence, salinity intrusion and compound coastal risks
NBS for urban and industrial land and water management
Green–blue infrastructure, industrial land transition, water reuse, brownfields and nature-positive coastal development
Methods to measure processes and NBS impacts
Remote sensing, AI, sensors, experiments, models, attribution, standards and long-term monitoring
Science brokers for climate-resilient and circular societies
Co-design, governance, finance, communication, justice, adoption and social learning
Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Sustainability, Salinity Management and Ecological Restoration
The host focus narrows the setting without narrowing the TERRAenVISION philosophy. International cases from agriculture, cities, forests, rivers, drylands and disaster recovery remain welcome when they illuminate transferable design principles, evidence or governance.
Four days in the Yellow River Delta
Pre-conference field immersion and welcome reception
Opening, plenaries, thematic sessions and poster welcome
Parallel sessions, solution labs, policy–practice forum and conference dinner
Synthesis, action agenda, closing and optional technical visits
Proposed outputs
A high-quality international programme with 150–250 participants, 12–18 scientific sessions and strong early-career participation.
A full-day field immersion linking wetland restoration, migratory-bird habitats, saline agriculture and coastal landscape governance.
A “Dongying Action Agenda” setting out evidence, safeguards and implementation priorities for NBS in dynamic deltas.
One open abstract book, one practice-oriented casebook or special collection, and several project or training consortia.
Shape the programme
We invite you to propose a session or interactive workshop within one of the five themes. We particularly welcome ideas that bring together different disciplines and connect science with implementation, policy and practice.
Dongying, Yellow River Delta
Dongying lies where the Yellow River meets the Bohai Sea, in Shandong Province, China. The exact conference venue will be announced soon.
The pre-conference field immersion on 18 October 2027 will take participants into the delta’s coastal wetlands, migratory-bird habitats and saline agriculture landscapes.
Coming soon
Keynotes & committees Soon
Keynote speakers and the scientific committee will be announced later.
Registration Soon
Registration fees and booking will open later. Please save the date: 18–21 October 2027.
Looking for the previous edition? TERRAenVISION 2026 in Trier →