“I am delighted to welcome Eric to the Patrons of Nature. We look forward to working with him and Ant Group to accelerate our transition towards a more sustainable, low carbon, and nature positive economy,” said Dr Bruno Oberle, IUCN Director General.

“It’s an honour to be named a Patron of Nature by the IUCN, an institution renowned for its contributions to conservation and sustainable development,” said Mr. Jing. “I look forward to working with IUCN’s leaders and Patrons to share ideas and best practices on the future of sustainable business and conservation, and help further our vision of using technology to create a lasting impact.”

Since 2018, IUCN has been working with the Ant Group on several projects in China, including evaluating the ecosystem services benefits of forest restoration and the effectiveness and outcomes of protected areas, both supported by Ant Group’s award-winning Ant Forest initiative – a mini programme within the Alipay app to promote a greener lifestyle and encourage low-carbon activities among users. As of August 2021, Ant Group and over 600 million Ant Forest users had contributed to the planting of over 326 million trees in China and supported 18 protected areas across China to provide shelter for over 1,500 species. 

Looking forward into the future, with Mr. Jing becoming a Patron of Nature, IUCN will explore further collaborations with the Ant Group, for instance on "Every Action Counts" – an initiative that aims to leverage technology and partnerships to enhance green awareness and nature positive and climate friendly actions of 1 billion internet users by 2025.

IUCN founded the Patrons of Nature in 2010 to rally global leaders and mobilize resources in support of the Union’s vision of a just world which values and conserves nature. Patrons of Nature provide strategic guidance to the Director General and generate investment for IUCN’s Programme as well as specific flagship initiatives.

Please click here for a full list of IUCN’s Patron of Nature.