XJTU professor Li Xiao has published an article titled "Close the biodiversity funding gap by teaching conservation to financial professionals".

Professor Li Xiao from the School of Public Policy and Management at Xi'an Jiaotong University published a correspondence article, as the sole author, in the prestigious academic journal Nature on Feb 13. The article, titled "Close the biodiversity funding gap by teaching conservation to financial professionals", advocates integrating biodiversity education into financial talent training to address the severe shortage of funding for global biodiversity conservation.

The article comes at a time when biodiversity conservation is a key issue for global sustainable development. However, the financial commitments made by various countries fall far short of the annual funding needed for biodiversity protection. This significant funding gap has become a major challenge in global ecological governance.

The article emphasizes that financial decision-makers play a crucial role in resource allocation, and their investment choices are key factors that can either drive or hinder biodiversity conservation. Therefore, financial, educational, and ecological institutions should strengthen cross-sector collaboration to integrate biodiversity education into financial talent training. This would enable financial professionals not only to understand the ecological and economic significance of biodiversity conservation but also to personally experience and appreciate its value through practical activities.

The article also argues that such educational innovation can help direct capital toward projects that support sustainable development and environmental protection, foster the advancement of green financial instruments, and ultimately result in more financial support for global biodiversity conservation.