The preparation for the upcoming World Ocean’s Day and the APRU Annual Presidents’ Meeting serves as a timely opportunity to highlight the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s (CUHK) trailblazing contribution to the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), a moonshot for biology aiming to sequence, catalogue, and characterize the genomes of all of Earth’s eukaryotic biodiversity over a period of ten years. 

CUHK is leading the Earth BioGenome Project Hong Kong (EBPHK), a collective effort of all eight local universities to address the challenge of understanding and preserving biodiversity through sequencing genomes of animals, plants, and fungi in the local territory. EBPHK cooperates with the APRU Pacific Rim Biodiversity and Sustainability Program, which draws its strength from APRU member institutions representing a significant portion of the world’s research on biodiversity. 

“There is much synergy with APRU’s Pacific Rim Biodiversity and Sustainability Program, and CUHK is pooling together the expertise from both initiatives to promote collective action to address biodiversity loss, protect ecosystems, and combat the impacts of climate change for a more sustainable future,” according to EBPHK and APRU’s Pacific Rim Biodiversity and Sustainability Program.

“Collaboration” was emphasized at the 2024 APRU x EBPHK Joint International Conference on Biodiversity, Conservation, Genomics and Sustainability held from February 15 to 17 at CUHK, drawing over 120 participants from 17 universities and other organizations across eight economies.

The three-day conference brought together academics from Asia-Pacific region, along with NGO practitioners, educators, and communities from Hong Kong. Attendees discussed biodiversity, conservation, genomics, and sustainability while acknowledging over a million species being under threat of extinction.

49 speakers explored various subtopics such as genetics and genome evolutionary biology related to climate change, biodiversity of bacteria, fungi, insects, and plants, sustainable cities and lifestyles, and biodiversity education.

World Ocean Day, powered by the World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council on June 8 and year round, catalyzes collective action for a healthy ocean and a stable climate. The APRU Annual Presidents’ Meeting, for its part, will be held June 24-26 on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in Tāmaki Makaurau (the Māori name for Auckland). Hosted by the University of Auckland under the theme “Oceans – The World’s Challenges Divide Us, the Ocean Currents Connect Us”, the event will explore and exchange knowledge and insights to consider the impacts of climate change on the oceans and the implications for communities and indigenous populations, climate justice, as well as food and water security.

“The CUHK-led Earth BioGenome Project Hong Kong illustrates the University’s impressively strong dedication to cross-disciplinary collaboration,” said Christina Schönleber, Chief Strategy Officer of APRU.

“It perfectly promotes and inspires action for our oceans and climate programs.”