Professor Dr. Li Zhang is a field wildlife biologist and Professor of Ecology at Beijing Normal University. He was appointed as the Secretary-General and board member of the Society for Entrepreneurs and Ecology Foundation of China in April 2016. Professor Dr. Zhang serves as a member of the board of directors and vice secretary general of the China Zoological Society, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Committee -Asian Elephant Specialist Group, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Scientific Authority of China, and the technical advisory group of Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephant (MIKE) of CITES, as well as being the national coordinator on combating illegal wildlife trafficking for Asian Development Bank.
He is also the handling editor of Conservation Biology, one of the top journals in the conservation world and has published over 80 research papers on environmental policies, endangered species conservation, wildlife management and trafficking in peer-reviewed journals including Nature, Science, Conservation Letters, Biological Conservation, Ecosystem Services, Nature Ecology & Evolution and Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
Professor Dr. Zhang is a well-known research scientist on China’s collective forest tenure reform policy, eco-compensation policy, protected area legislation, wildlife protection law, community conservation agreement, and international wildlife trade-related policies. He was the China Country Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (2002-2006), the Interim Country Director and Program Director of Conservation International China Program (2008-2013), and the National Representative of Freeland Foundation/US Agency for International Development Asia Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (2013-2016). Professor Dr. Zhang is also on the judging panel for the Ford Motor Environment and Conservation Grant and has been working to support Chinese grassroots environmental NGOs’ capacity building since 2002.