Posted on April, 13 2004

University students to set up WWF campaign centres along the Yangtze

WWF-China's fourth annual Wetland Ambassadors Action campaign has selected ten university teams to set up campaign centres along the Yangtze River. Their aim is to raise awareness amongst government officials, farmers and other stakeholders of the importance and benefits of conserving the wetlands of the Yangtze. Appropriately, the theme of this year's campaign is "A Living River: from the Mountains to the Sea." The campaign which is sponsored by WWF, the Ramsar Convention Bureau, and China's State Forestry Administration was launched on March 24 2004.

From its source in Qinghai province to its mouth in the East China Sea, the Yangtze winds through 11 provinces. The ten teams were selected from 28 proposals submitted by University green groups and will each set up a campaign centre in their respective provinces. A campaign centre will also be set up in the final province, Tibet.

The selected teams will first undertake training from WWF in April 2004. WWF and the ambassadors will develop communication plans on the concept of a 'living river' and will outline regional campaign objectives. Campaign themes will include the conservation of glaciers and high-altitude wetlands at the source of the Yangzte; river landscape restoration and dam issues in the upper reaches of the Yangtze; wetland restoration in the Central Yangtze area; and water pollution in areas downstream. The ambassadors will collaborate with local NGOs, government agencies and media to achieve their half-year campaign goals. Each team is provided with a WWF grant of USD625 to set up its campaign centre.

For more information please contact: 
 
Zhang Yifei
Communications Officer
WWF-China Yangtze Programme
yfzhang@wwfchina.org