BEIJING, May 15 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- International non-governmental organization The Nature Conservancy announced today that its has cancelled Nature Reserves of China, Through the Viewfinder photo contest award ceremony to donate all event funds to the earthquake relief efforts in Sichuan province. This high profile photography contest, which was due to take place on May 21 at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, was set to promote China's nature reserve systems.
"The devastating, unimaginable, impact of the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan continues to increase in scale. The lives and welfare of our neighbors in Sichuan -- a region of both high population density and biodiversity -- are of utmost importance at this time," said Rose Niu, Deputy Region Managing Director, The Nature Conservancy Asia-Pacific Region.
Along with a pool of individual donations made by local employees, The Nature Conservancy will contribute funds from the cancelled award ceremony to the disaster relief efforts. In particular, funds will be allocated to the staff and local communities in and around the nature reserves in the earthquake area. Relief efforts so far have been less successful in reaching the remote areas where these nature reserves are located.
The Nature Conservancy is part of a coalition of like-minded international and domestic NGOs, combining forces across China to provide disaster relief to earthquake-stricken areas. These NGOs are calling for donations of money, material goods, and blood from across the country and several are setting up relief funds for earthquake victims. "We are proud to align ourselves with like-minded NGOs by redirecting our resources to this area of urgent need," said Shuang Zhang, Director of The Nature Conservancy China program. "We are confident that together we can enhance and accelerate these relief efforts, and we call on all individuals and NGOs to join forces in moments like these."
