Co-sponsored by the Pathways to Planetary Health initiative at the Garrison Institute and the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
Conservation in China for Ecological Civilization
China’s emerging framework of Ecological Civilization is reshaping what conservation can mean—expanding the public discourse beyond protected areas and species recovery to include culture, livelihoods, and the ethical foundations of human–nature relationship. This Forum explores conservation practice in China as a “nexus” challenge: where ecological science meets social realities and cultural meaning, and where the success of conservation depends on trust, governance, and long-term stewardship.
Featuring conservation scientist and environmental anthropologist Gao Yufang, we’ll examine how on-the-ground efforts—from protected landscapes to human–wildlife coexistence—are navigating the tensions and possibilities of rapid modernization. What kinds of ethical conservation approaches become possible when ecological values are treated as civilizational priorities? Where do the hardest tradeoffs show up? And what lessons might China’s experiments offer (or not offer) to leaders and communities elsewhere?
TIMING
We will conduct this live Forum on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. After registering, you will receive a Zoom link to join the session.
SPEAKERS
Gao Yufang, PhD, is a conservation scientist and environmental anthropologist focused on human–wildlife coexistence and the natural–social–cultural nexus in China, especially in the Himalayan region and Tibetan Plateau. He is the Founder and Director of Conservation Edgewalkers, an Explorer with the National Geographic Society, Co-Chair of the IUCN China Species Specialist Group, and a Research Associate with Yale’s InterAsia Initiative.
Mary Evelyn Tucker, PhD, co-directs the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, which examines cultural and religious values for broadened environmental ethics. This arose from a series of 10 conferences at Harvard on world religions and ecology that she organized with John Grim. She has published several books on Confucianism including The Philosophy of Qi. She co-edited Confucianism and Ecology (Harvard) and two volumes with Tu Weiming on Confucian Spirituality. She is the co-author of Journey of the Universe with Brian Thomas Swimme and the executive producer of the Emmy Award winning Journey film. This was inspired by Thomas Berry whose books she edited and whose biography she wrote with John Grim.They have been traveling in China since 1985 studying Ecological Civilization.
Stephen Posner, PhD, is Senior Fellow for Planetary Health at the Garrison Institute and Global Affiliate with the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont. Stephen integrates science with contemplative practices to build understanding across cultures, align human systems with nature, and promote cross-sector collaboration. He has published over 50 technical and non-technical articles on sustainability science and leverage points for systems change. He currently leads initiatives related to nature assessment and ecological stewardship
Roots of Renewal:
Ecological Civilization in China and the Confluence of Tradition and Modernity
A Garrison Institute Webinar Series on Ecological Civilization
The Garrison Institute’s Pathways to Planetary Health initiative is partnering with the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology to host a five-part online Forum series exploring Ecological Civilization in China—an evolving cultural, ethical, ecological, and policy vision that asks what it would take to align human development with the flourishing of Earth’s living systems.
Rather than treating ecological civilization as primarily technical, this series examines how social change is shaped by the relationship between tradition and modernity: where inherited worldviews and cultural traditions meet rapid development, and where inner cultivation and public institutions must be reimagined together. Each Forum features a guest speaker in dialogue with Mary Evelyn Tucker and moderator Stephen Posner, and invites participants into conversations that connect ideas to practice, and values to systems change.
Across the series, we move from on-the-ground conservation and thirty years of Ecological Civilization work in China, to Daoism and classical reading as pathways for self-transformation and social reform—culminating in the launch of a new Yale Forum Ecological Civilization website designed as a living resource for learning, teaching, and transformation.
Moderator: Stephen Posner, The Garrison Institute
Discussants: Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale University, along with esteemed speakers
We will conduct these LIVE forums on Zoom. After registering for each forum, you will receive a link to join the session. Please email us at events@garrisoninstitute.org with questions.
Featured speakers and topics:
- Gao Yufang — Conservation in China for Ecological Civilization
- Zhihe Wang & Meijun Fan — Ecological Civilization: Thirty Years of Work in China
- Daniel K. Gardner — Reading the Chinese Classics for Self-Transformation and Social Reform
- Chen Xia — Daoism and Ecological Civilization
Simeiqi He & Andrew MacIver — A New Ecological Civilization Hub for Learning, Teaching, and Action
We will conduct these LIVE forums on Zoom from 7:00 – 8:15pm ET on
Please contact us for questions and inquiries at events@garrisoninstitute.org.