Lü Zhi is a Professor of Conservation Biology at Peking University and the Executive Director of Peking University Center for Nature and Society, which promotes better environmental policies and builds environmental leadership in China. She founded Shan Shui Conservation Center, a Chinese NGO devoted to finding effective solutions for Chinese society to live in balance with nature.

Professor Lü Zhi is a leading conservation biologist in China whose interdisciplinary research deals with Chinese society's complex sustainability issues. Her field projects involve the conservation of endangered species such as the giant panda, snow leopard, Przewalski's gazelle, Tibetan brown bear, and the ecosystem services of the Tibetan Plateau. In recent years, she has focused on studying and promoting community-led conservation in western China. In particular, she initiated various experiments testing conservation tools based on economic incentives (such as carbon sequestration), cultural value (such as sacred mountain protection), and policy improvements (such as payment for ecosystem services) that may benefit local people in their conservation efforts. She is a key figure in conservation policymaking at regional and national levels, and an active member of international conservation discussions.

Professor Lü Zhi was educated at Peking University, completing her Ph.D. in 1991 on giant panda ecology and conservation in Qinling. She has held numerous academic appointments and has led programs for international NGOs such as WWF and CI in China. She authored and edited five books and dozens of articles on the giant panda and conservation issues in China. Her articles and photographs have appeared in popular magazines, including a National Geographic China cover story. She frequently appears on Chinese and international media to speak on behalf of China's nature conservation. In 1999, she was featured in the New York Times on China's 50th anniversary as one of six young Chinese to watch.