2026-09-11 19:46
On September 11th, at the 2026 Inclusion · Bund Conference held in Shanghai, Ant Forest invited tree planters, tree friends representatives, and public welfare partners from all over the country to gather with leading figures in global green innovation practices at the "2026 Earth Partner Conference" to review the improvements brought by the joint efforts of all parties to the environment, as well as to see new challenges in addressing climate change, desertification control, water resources protection, and other fields.
From planting the first Haloxylon ammodendron 10 years ago to over 700 million people participating and planting more than 700 million trees today, Ant Forest, once considered a "wild imagination" ecological public welfare project, has determined a new direction of "continuing to explore new solutions for nature conservation through cutting-edge technology" on its 10th anniversary.
On September 10th, Ant Forest released an open letter to 700 million fellow travelers, proposing the core proposition of the "next decade": respecting natural boundaries and continuing to fantasize. At the same time, the "Ant Forest Green Technology Innovation Competition" came to a successful conclusion, with over 200 young teams from around the world responding to Ant Forest's "New Decade" initiative and contributing innovative ideas to protect nature.
Ten Years of Planting Trees: From "Energy Saving" to "National Green Strategy for All People's Practice"
Ten years ago, Ant Forest was born from a "wild imagination" idea of frontline employees doing public welfare: ordinary people can receive "green energy" rewards on their phones as long as they practice environmentally friendly behavior in their daily lives. When the energy accumulates to a certain extent, it is donated by Ant, public welfare organizations, and professional institutions to plant real trees in areas where ecology needs it. This idea is both "slow" and "unreliable" in the field of the Internet, which is constantly iterative and updated in real time.
However, it is precisely this' slowness' that has led to the most extensive nationwide environmental mobilization to date. In the past 10 years, the online participation of Ant Forest has exceeded 700 million, of which 160 million people have applied to plant more than 700 million trees with green energy, rooted in more than 150 counties in 13 provinces of China, with a total planting area of 4713 square kilometers. More than 90% of the trees are helping ecological restoration and desertification control in the "Three North" hard hit areas.
Thank you to every user of Ant Forest, thank you to every tree planter, and thank you to all the partners who have traveled together. Ant Forest is like a drop of water, fortunate enough to merge into a sea of national green development,Ant Group Chairman Jing Xiandong reviewed the ten years of Ant Forest as follows: These ten years have been a decade of continuous deepening of national green development and increasing ecological awareness in the whole society. Without the guidance of forestry, grassland, and ecological environment departments at all levels, without the perseverance of tree growers, and without the professional strength of public welfare organizations, scientific research institutions, and other partners, there would not be today's Ant Forest.
Ten years ago, we made a commitment to society: if you plant a tree on your phone, you plant a tree in the ground. Over the past decade, Ant Group has donated more than 5.1 billion yuan to public welfare, helping users of Ant Forest plant 700 million saplingsJing Xiandong announced on site:In the next decade, this promise will continue, and Ant Forest will not only continue to plant trees, but also continue to respect natural boundaries and use technology to continue 'wild imagination'。
Industry insiders say that what Ant Forest has done in the past 10 years is essentially translating and implementing the grand proposition of the "National Green Development Strategy" to the general public into small daily tasks such as "walking, public transportation, and reducing the use of disposable items", and then using corporate donations to implement ecological restoration and protection work such as tree planting, inspiring the public to persist in green environmental protection.
As a member of billions of online "tree friends", rehabilitation doctor Xu Zhiqiang from Beijing has turned Ant Forest into a "rehabilitation partner" in the patient community, encouraging patients to persist in rehabilitation and actively face life through "walking to collect energy"; On the front line of the Ant Forest Public Welfare Protection Area, Li Mingxian, a post-90s patrol officer in Yunnan, measured 24000 acres of forest with his footsteps, leading villagers to protect the Chinese Myanmar gray leaf monkeys and promoting the recovery of the monkey population from about 320 to about 500.
This ecological practice, which relies on digital platforms and mobilizes public participation, has also received attention and praise from authoritative experts in the international ecological field. Dr. Sylvia Earle, a renowned oceanographer known as the "Queen of the Deep Sea" and the initiator of the global ocean conservation program "Blue Mission," sees the significance of Ant Forest driving public action at the bottom of the ecological chain. She stated in her video speech:The actions you have taken, such as planting trees and conserving water resources, are the foundation of all things
Sebastian Bakp, Executive Director of the World Economic Forum, stated in his speech at the conference that nature is a living infrastructure and the foundation of all wealth and well-being. He highly affirmed the exploration of Ant Forest over the past decade and praised China for mobilizing the public to participate in ecological restoration through digital technology, completing an unprecedented scale of nature conservation action.
Cognitive leap: Public ecological concept shifts from 'man conquers nature' to 'respecting natural boundaries'
Over the past decade, Ant Forest has witnessed not only the improvement of natural appearance after ecological restoration, but also a "cognitive leap" in public ecological concepts.
In the past, people's general understanding of desertification control was a "man can conquer nature" transformation. With the continuous deepening of ecological civilization ideas, the concept of "harmonious coexistence between humans and nature" has gradually made people realize the need to understand nature first and then cooperate with it.
More than 90% of the afforestation area in Ant Forest is concentrated in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China, where water is the key constraint for restoring greenery. Li Yuanyuan, President of the International Water Resources Society, said that planting trees and grass needs to be coordinated with water resources. The planting of trees and grass should cover the desert, and if it is suitable, it should be abandoned.
But water is just one of the constraints. What to plant and how to plant it also depends on the understanding of the forest itself. Su Jilan, an academician of the CAS Member, pointed out that,Forests are not simply a collection of many trees, they are a complex ecosystem, and without healthy biodiversity, forests cannot survive.
Wang Yi, Deputy Director of the National Committee of Experts on Climate ChangeFurthermore, it is pointed out that addressing the biodiversity and climate crisis requires a transformation towards comprehensive and systematic governance. He took land as an example: land can be used for planting trees, providing carbon sinks, protecting biodiversity, and also for planting trees in conjunction with photovoltaic panels. What plan should be used and how should decisions be made? Not only a scientific issue, but also a governance issue.
Over the past 10 years, the implementation plans of Ant Forest in various regions have been tailored to local conditions. They not only need to undergo scientific review by experts in relevant fields in China, but also need to be summarized and verified by frontline tree growers through practical exploration. Ye Huiping, a tree planter from Ant Forest in Alxa, Inner Mongolia, also encountered the dilemma of low survival rate of seedlings. Afterwards, she and her local fellow villagers relied on "recycling according to the conditions of the desert" to turn the barren "sand hut" into a "desert canteen" that could serve a table of delicious dishes.
Standing at the starting point of the new decade, Ant Forest is gradually moving towards a new stage of high-quality development of "technology empowerment and scientific governance" from the previous "scale accumulation" of hundreds of millions of participants and trees plantedIn the next decade, while continuing to plant trees, Ant Forest will continue to learn and understand nature. We will continue to use new technologies to explore new fields and possibilities for ecological protection and sustainable development,Jing Xiandong stated.
China Plan: "World Inspiration" from Social, Civil, and Public Environmental Protection Practices
Ten years ago, Ant Forest's "whimsical" idea was to plant trees even with a mobile phone; Ten years later, entering the era of AI, it will continue to 'fantasize' and use cutting-edge technology to explore answers for coexistence and cooperation with nature.
At the Earth Partners Conference, young innovators Jia Mingxuan and Liu Yujie stepped onto the stage to share their green science and technology innovation projects. Ant Forest is also simultaneously calling on young people around the world to contribute their wisdom and continue to protect this imaginative creation of the future.
When the world is searching for effective ways to mobilize public participation in environmental protection, Ant Forest, a public welfare practice from China that has lasted for ten years, not only has taken a unique path of localization, but also provides a "Chinese sample" for global environmental governance with its digital mobilization power, scientific governance concept, and cross-border co creation.
Sebastian Buckp, Executive Director of the World Economic Forum, pointed out that climate change is giving rise to an increasing number of extreme weather events, and China has played an important role in exploring natural solutions. Relevant practices have the potential to be promoted externally; No country or company can achieve climate goals alone, and climate and nature issues should be an important direction for global cooperation. We look forward to all parties working together to involve China's local ecological practices in the global climate governance dialogue.
The public welfare practice of Ant Forest is also expanding into daily life through broader social ecology. During the dialogue session of the "Earth Partners Conference", representatives from Ant Forest's cooperative brands and cultural and museum organizations, including L'Oreal's Chief Sustainable Development Officer Park Ji sun and NBA China Senior Vice President Li Jianwei, discussed how to deeply integrate with ecological public welfare and drive more members of the public to join green action.
Standing at the milestone of ten years, Peng Yijie, Chief Sustainable Development Officer of Ant Group and Executive Chairman of Ant Forest Foundation, sighed at the conference:Countless' impossibilities' met each other, holding up a small idea, and finally making Ant Forest possible. How lucky we are
In her opinion, the most touching aspect of public welfare is not just the results and numbers of projects, but the awakening of goodwill deep in people's hearts and the protection of their expectations for the world,Believe in the power of believing in oneselfLooking towards the future,New technology has arrived, and new possibilities are definitely ahead,She expressed that Ant Forest sincerely invites all companions to continue to accompany each other and plant the next forest together in the next decade. (End)
