UN and Chinese government join hands in an innovative project to raise
environmental awareness in China
BEIJING, China, Dec. 18 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- A nationwide environmental
awareness campaign featuring the 2008 Beijing Olympic mascots and Chinese
celebrities will kick off early next year through a 3-year project launched
today in Beijing by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the
Chinese government.
(Logo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/20061107113358-34.jpg )
Entitled “China Environmental Awareness Programme (CEAP)”, the project
seeks to raise public awareness about environmental issues through media
campaigns built around high-profile national events such as the 2008 Beijing
Olympics and the Shanghai Expo in 2010.
“Creative media campaigns are a good way to generate public interest on
environmental challenges and to encourage people to actively respond to these
concerns,” said Yang Lan, one of China’s top television journalists while
speaking at the ceremony.
“The Olympics provide a unique opportunity to spotlight enviromental
issues at a national and global level and get people everywhere involved in
environmental work,” said Yang, who was one of the ambassadors for the
Beijing 2008 Olympic bid.
To be launched in early 2007, CEAP will raise awareness among decision
makers and the general public on environmental issues, a critical factor
highlighed by Premier Wen Jiabao as one of the major reasons behind China’s
severe environmental problems earlier this year.
“To respond to the very issue on top of the government agenda, our
challenge and goal will be to raise awareness and convert environmental
knowledge into a change in behavior, attitude and practice, ” said Khalid
Malik, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in China,
when addressing the launch.
According to Malik, the national campaign will focus on issues of air
pollution, climate change, access to clean water and sustainable consumption
through a variety of media vehicles such as public-service announcements,
documentaries and TV shows.
Through a newly established partnership between UNDP and the Beijing
Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), the official
Olympic mascots, the “Fuwa”, representing the five elements of nature and
four animals from diverse regions in China, will be linked to environmental
messages in a series of animated public service announcements to be
broadcasted on Chinese television and on the monitor screens within the
Olympic facilities and stadiums.
“In addition to the Olympic mascots, the UNDP-BOCOG partnership will
feature transporting athletes on fuel-cell buses through the Olympic compound
to promote clean public transport, showcasing environmentally friendly
materials and solutions used in building the Olympic facilities and
establishing an education center inside the Olympic venue to raise public
awareness on innovative approaches to water conservation, “said Yu Xiaoxuan,
Director of the Environment Department of BOCOG.
Along with the national campaign, CEAP will also adopt tailor-made
approaches to enhance environmental conciousness of different social sectors
and groups, including plans to introduce Green MBA programmes in Chinese
universities, training Chinese journalists covering environmental stories and
an award-scheme to recognize Chinese environmental leadership, supported by a
series of targeted local campaigns with special attention placed on women and
children in Western China.
The project is a joint effort between UNDP, the State Environmental
Protection Administration of China (SEPA), and the China International Center
for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE) under the Ministry of Commerce.
It is funded by Arcelor Mittal, the world’s largest steel producer,
committed to promoting technologies on energy-efficiency and CO2 emission
reduction, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy.
UNDP fosters human development to empower women and men to build better
lives in China. As the UN’s development network, UNDP draws on a world of
experience to assist China in developing its own solutions to the country’s
development challenges. Through partnerships and innovation, UNDP works to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals and an equitable Xiao Kang society
by reducing poverty, strengthening the rule of law, promoting environmental
sustainability, and fighting HIV/AIDS. http://www.undp.org.cn
