Gothenburg – – September 23, 2026 -- Professor Bojie Fu has won the 2026 Volvo Environment Prize for research that reversed decades of severe soil erosion across China's Loess Plateau, one of the world's largest landscape-restoration efforts. The prize, awarded by an independent foundation since 1990, carries SEK 1.5 million along with a diploma and glass sculpture, to be presented at a Stockholm ceremony on November 2, 2026.
Fu's field research reshaped China's approach to large-scale ecological restoration
Fu, a Professor of Geography and Landscape Ecology at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led extensive field studies mapping the links between land use, vegetation, water, soil, and biodiversity. His team's findings showed that dense or poorly chosen vegetation could worsen water scarcity, prompting a shift away from mass tree-planting campaigns toward species-specific, site-adapted restoration strategies.
The Grain for Green program compensated farmers to secure long-term buy-in
Resistance from farmers fearing loss of grazing and cultivation land threatened early restoration efforts. The Grain for Green initiative addressed this by compensating local communities, a mechanism credited with sustaining the project's political and social viability over decades.
World Bank funding launched pilot projects before Chinese government financing scaled the effort
Early demonstration projects on the plateau received World Bank funding, while the bulk of subsequent investment came from the Chinese government. The Prize Jury noted that success depended on continuous scientific monitoring and a willingness to adjust methods when evidence showed established approaches were failing.
Jury credits Fu's work with informing restoration policy across the Global South
The Volvo Environment Prize Jury cited Fu's contributions to social-ecological systems science and his ability to translate localized restoration data into frameworks applicable to sustainable development policy in other regions facing land degradation.