The First Xiamen International Forum on Urban Environment was held on 28-29 November 2007. The forum attracted nearly 100 participants from UNESCAP, UN-HABITAT, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, UK, USA and China. This forum was sponsored by Chinese Academy of Science, National Natural Sciences Foundation of China, and the Xiamen Municipal Government. The host organizations were the Institute of Urban Environment CAS, the International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology (IJSDWE), and the Xiamen Municipal Government Science & Technology Bureau. A special issue of IJSDWE based on the forum was also published.

Participants of the First Xiamen International Forum on Urban Environment gave presentations highlighting significant issues and research directions relating to the urban environment.  These issues and directions were agreed upon by all forum participants. To facilitate urban environment research around the world, participants of the forum advocated the foundation of an international society dedicated to the science and study of urban environments, and publication of a world-class academic journal to disseminate the results of these studies, including international collaboration.

This forum in Xiamen clearly demonstrated the ongoing need to expand and enhance international and interdisciplinary collaboration in order to develop solutions to many of the major challenges that increased urbanization brings across the world. The Xiamen International Forum on Urban Environment is the first of a projected ongoing series of meetings, to be held every three years, to consider key issues relating to the urban environment.