Volunteers Needed to Protect Yangtze HeadwaterIn the next five years, 150 volunteers will be sent to work at the Suonandajie Nature Reserve near the headwaters of the Yangtze River to carry out environmental protection work.The volunteers will be chosen from Chinese citizens aged 20 to 45 years old. Their work at the nature reserve will include aiding anti-poaching activities in Hoh Xil of Qinghai Province, giving aid to scientists in their outdoor surveys, and to publicize protecting the environment among tourists and local herdsmen. The program is being organized by Green River, a non-governmental environmental protection organization in China. Yang Xin, chairman of the Green River Council for Promotion of Environmental Protection, explained that those people who are interested in the activity may hand in their applications to Green River via its website address of www.Green-River.Org. or call (0284328252) or fax number (0284365832). Starting from January 1, 2001, 30 volunteers will be selected each year and be sent to work at the Suonandajie Nature Reserve in 12 groups after short-term training courses. Each group should work at the nature reserve for one month. The nature reserve, which was just completed recently with raised funds, is situated at the southern side of the Kunlun Mountains or the eastern edge of Hoh Xil. The low temperature there in winter is 45 Celsius degrees below zero. It has become a frontier post in protecting ecology at the source of the Yangtze River and combating poaching in Hoh Xil. According to Yang, a Canadian organization has given donations to cover expenditures needed for training volunteers and their activities in 2001. |
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