Hong Kong SAR, March 29, 2026 — The 2026 International Conference on Natural Resources and Planning (ICNRP 2026) was successfully held from March 26 to 29 at the University of Hong Kong. The conference was jointly organized by the International Association of Natural Resources (iAONR), the Urban Systems Institute of the University of Hong Kong, and the Faculty of Architecture (Departments of Urban Planning and Design and Geography), with support from the Global Designers Association (GDA) and the YUANYE AWARDS International Competition Organizing Committee. The event brought together global expertise and established a high-level platform for international academic exchange and collaboration.
The conference attracted approximately 600 experts, scholars, and industry professionals from more than 20 countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan, as well as China and the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan regions. During the conference, over 400 abstracts and more than 100 full papers were submitted, covering topics such as natural resource utilization, urban and rural planning, and green development.
At the opening ceremony, Academician Honglie Sun, former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Mr. Sommad Pholsena, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly of Laos, delivered video addresses, congratulating the conference and expressing expectations for global natural resource protection and sustainable development. Opening remarks were delivered by Professor Mohammad Qasim Jan, President of iAONR and Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor Peng Gong, Vice President of the University of Hong Kong, encouraging participants to build consensus and advance collaboration.
During the closing ceremony, Ms.Li Fan, Programme Officer of UN-Habitat, and Professor Pietro Elisei, President of the Global Designers Association(GDA), delivered speeches. They summarized the outcomes of the conference and looked ahead to future development directions.
Following the opening ceremony, two keynote sessions featured seven distinguished academicians and experts, including Professor Mohammad Qasim Jan, Professor Richard Church (Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences), Professors Bojie Fu and Anthony G.O Yeh (Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences), Professor Renzhong Guo (Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering), Professor Abay Serikkhanov (Vice President of National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan), and Professor Patrick Roberts (Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Germany). The sessions were chaired by Professor Lei Shen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Executive President of iAONR, and Professors Shenjing He and Bo Huang from the University of Hong Kong.
Nearly 300 participants engaged in in-depth discussions across 21 parallel sessions, while two master architects held a high-level dialogue. Discussions focused on frontier topics including sustainable utilization of natural resources, green development, urban and rural planning, and the built environment, contributing valuable insights toward addressing global ecological challenges.
To showcase cutting-edge practices and academic innovation, the conference featured a thematic exhibition titled “Architecture · Resources · Future”. The exhibition presented exemplary projects and research achievements in architecture, urban planning, resource efficiency, and ecological conservation. Highlights included award-winning works from the YUANYE AWARDS International Competition and the International Natural Resources and Planning Excellence Awards. The School of Architecture at Tianjin University also curated a special exhibition reviewing the development of higher education and architectural education in China.
Prior to the conference, the International Association of Natural Resources convened its Global Council Meeting. Professor Mohammad Qasim Jan was elected as the founding President. Four internationally renowned experts were elected as Vice Presidents, and Professor Lei Shen was appointed Executive President. In addition, the inaugural council meetings of the Urban and Regional Planning Committee and the Environment Protection and Ecological Restoration Committee were successfully held, laying a solid foundation for long-term collaboration between research and practice.