Akihiro Nakamura loves to climb trees, because he says magical creatures of the insect world only live on the highest branches. A researcher at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nakamura focuses on insect ecology, community ecology and conservation ecology.

An Ecology and Biodiversity Sustainable Conservation and Academic Exchange Workshop was held in Vientiane, Laos from May 26 to June 7. The workshop was co-hosted by Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) and the Biotechnology and Ecology Institute (BEI) of Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), with participation of over 70 experts and scholars from nearly 30 institutions and departments of China and Laos.

"Be part of the Plan" is the theme for this year's International Day for Biological Diversity. Science and Technology Daily (S&T Daily) reporters visited the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Yunnan province in southwestern China, where they witnessed the joint efforts of scientists from China and abroad to preserve biodiversity. "Everyone is responsible for biodiversity, it's a moral code that we have to live by

During a botanical expedition to a local nature reserve in Yunnan Province, the researchers collected a previously unknown Rubiaceae species. After extensive examination and comparison with other known species, the researchers confirmed that it was a new species.