The science that brought green back to China's Loess Plateau awarded the 2026 Volvo Environment Prize
Volvo honors Professor Bojie Fu’s science-driven restoration of China’s Loess Plateau with its 2026 Environment Prize and SEK 1.5 million award.
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AB Volvo (VLVLY) announces that Professor Bojie Fu has been awarded the 2026 Volvo Environment Prize, which includes SEK 1.5 million.
Fu is recognized for decades of research that underpinned the large-scale restoration of China’s Loess Plateau, shifting policy from mass tree planting to evidence-based, socially aware landscape management under programs such as Grain for Green. The jury highlights his contributions to social-ecological systems, sustainability science, and policy pathways relevant across the Global South. The prize, presented by an independent foundation, also includes a diploma and glass sculpture and will be awarded in Stockholm on November 2, 2026. Volvo Group notes 2025 net sales of SEK 479 billion.
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GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Once stripped of vegetation and scarred by some of the world's most severe soil erosion, China's Loess Plateau has undergone a remarkable ecological transformation. Professor Bojie Fu, one of the scientists who helped make that recovery possible, is the recipient of the 2026 Volvo Environment Prize.
The Loess Plateau was a major cradle of early Chinese civilization. But centuries of intensive cultivation and overgrazing pushed this huge area towards ecological collapse. Vegetation disappeared, soil was swept away, and vast quantities of sediment poured into the Yellow River. The landscape became a stark symbol of unsustainable land use.
Today, large areas of the plateau are green again.
Behind this dramatic revival lies one of the world's most ambitious landscape-restoration efforts—and decades of scientific research into how damaged ecosystems can be rebuilt without exhausting the scarce resources on which both nature and people depend.
Professor Bojie Fu has played a decisive role in that work. Through extensive field studies and landscape-scale analysis, he and his team have investigated the complex relationships between land use, vegetation, water, soil, biodiversity, and local livelihoods.
Fu is a Professor of Geography and Landscape Ecology at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He and his research team revealed both the potential and the risks of ecological restoration. More vegetation can hold soil in place, capture carbon, and revive biodiversity—but planting the wrong species, or planting too densely, can deepen water scarcity and threaten the long-term survival of the restored landscape.
This evidence helped shift restoration strategies away from mass planting campaigns and towards carefully adapted, sustainable land management. It provided practical guidance on which species to plant, where they could thrive, and how to balance restoration with agriculture and local communities' needs.
One major obstacle to restoration was resistance from farmers who feared for their livelihoods if they could no longer keep livestock or cultivate the land as before. The project, dubbed Grain for Green, helped overcome this resistance by compensating local communities and farmers.
The Prize Jury recognizes Professor Fu's pioneering contributions to social-ecological systems and sustainability science, as well as his exceptional ability to connect local restoration with global sustainable development. The Jury particularly highlights how his work on the Loess Plateau has created science-based pathways for ecological recovery, human well-being, and effective policy across the Global South.
The plateau's revitalization was neither simple nor swift. It was a complex, long-term undertaking involving local communities, government agencies, researchers, and international partners. Early demonstration projects received World Bank funding, while most subsequent investment came from the Chinese government.
Its success depended not only on sustained financial and political commitment, but also on continuous scientific monitoring and a willingness to adapt when evidence showed that established approaches were not working.
Professor Fu's research demonstrates how science can turn restoration ambitions into lasting environmental change—and how a landscape once considered devastated can be given a future.
The Volvo Environment Prize has been awarded annually since 1990 and is regarded as one of the scientific world's most respected environmental prizes. Presented by an independent foundation, the award consists of a hand-crafted diploma, a glass sculpture, and SEK 1.5 million.
Professor Bojie Fu will receive the Volvo Environment Prize at a ceremony in Stockholm, Nov 2, 2026.
More information about the laureate and the prize: www.environment-prize.com
September 23, 2026
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The Volvo Group drives prosperity through transport and infrastructure solutions, offering trucks, buses, construction equipment, power solutions for marine and industrial applications, financing and services that increase our customers' uptime and productivity. Founded in 1927, the Volvo Group is committed to shaping the future landscape of sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions. The Volvo Group is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, employs almost 100,000 people and serves customers in almost 180 markets. In 2025, net sales amounted to SEK 479 billion (EUR 43 billion). Volvo shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.
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SOURCE AB Volvo
AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice. What aspects of Professor Bojie Fu’s work were emphasized by the Volvo Environment Prize jury? The jury highlights his pioneering contributions to social-ecological systems and sustainability science, his role in the ecological restoration of China’s Loess Plateau, and his ability to connect local restoration efforts with global sustainable development. The jury also notes that his work has created science-based pathways for ecological recovery, human well-being, and effective policy across the Global South. What does the Volvo Environment Prize consist of besides the cash award? The Volvo Environment Prize is presented by an independent foundation and consists of a hand-crafted diploma, a glass sculpture, and SEK 1.5 million. When and where will the 2026 Volvo Environment Prize be presented to Professor Fu? Professor Bojie Fu will receive the 2026 Volvo Environment Prize at a ceremony in Stockholm on November 2, 2026. How large is Volvo Group’s business based on the latest figures in the announcement? Volvo Group reports that in 2025 its net sales amounted to SEK 479 billion, equivalent to EUR 43 billion, and states that it employs almost 100,000 people and serves customers in almost 180 markets.FAQ