Brazilian Nobel Prize Winner Named Honorary Chinese villagerBrazilian Nobel Prize winner and environmental expert Jose Lutzenberger on Sunday became an " honorary villager" of Fanggan Village, a tiny spot at the foot of Taishan Mountain in east China's Shandong Province.During his tour of the village, Lutzenberger praised on the villagers' achievements in the realm of environmental protection, saying that their awareness of the issue will help to beautify the village. Fanggan, dubbed a "paradise on earth," is well-known for its 20- year efforts in turning barren and balding mountains into breathtaking landscape. To date, the village's 3,500 mu (233 hectares) of land is covered with over three million trees and dotted with eight reservoirs, attracting some 200 species of birds. Last year, the village joined the competition for the title of "top 500 global environmental protection projects" sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program. Lutzenberger is the founder of Brazil's environmental protection movement and Brazil's former minister of environment. He was awarded a Nobel special prize for his outstanding contribution to rainforest preservation. In recent years, China has highlighted the importance of environmental protection. A major clean-up project focusing on the Huaihe, Haihe and Liaohe rivers, and the Taihu, Dianchi and Chaohu lakes, is underway and so far has been successful. Measures also have been taken to reduce pollution along the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. |
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