In the recently completed CAS academician consultation meeting, influence of climate changes on Tibetan Plateau environment and on its role as China’s ecological security zone was thoroughly discussed, together with human adaptations, by attending CAS academicians and geoscientists.

Five aspects were suggested by participating scholars as top priorities in consolidating Tibetan Plateau as China's ecological security zone. They included 1) extreme environmental events caused by geosurface transformation on the Tibetan Plateau and assessment of its influence and suggestions on adaptations, 2) assessment of and addressing the influence of Tibetan Plateau cryospheric variation on regional water cycle and ecosystem, 3) assessment of influences of ground vegetation changes on the Tibetan Plateau on and their responses to climate changes and human adaptations, 4) assessment of and addressing major ecosystem variations on the Tibetan Plateau and its role in carbon source/sink cycle, and 5) assessment of the variation trend of the Tibetan Plateau as China's ecological security zone and adapting strategies to environmental changes on the Plateau.

In the coming two years, CAS academicians and experienced scientists will study the aforementioned topics with research programs, hoping to contribute to strengthening the role of Tibetan Plateau as a security zone in China’s ecosystem. With the research outcome, scientists also planned to suggest on adapting measures to the influence of changing environment on the Plateau to ensure regional social and economic sustainability.

CAS academicians as professors SUN Honglie, LI Wenhua, FENG Zongwei, ZHENG Du and YAO Tandong were present in the consultation meeting. Also sat in at the meeting and actively involved in the discussions were 17 distinguished professors from Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Cold and Arid Regions Engineering and Environmental Research Institute, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, and Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth.