News Release

CHINA, U-.S. NON-PROFIT GROUP ANNOUNCE JOINT ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

More Information About CEGA Project Summary and History China Environmental Global Alliance Agreement Remarks of Madam Deng Nan upon receiving the 1997 Safari Planet Earth Award Press Release Article in China Daily

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- Madam Deng Nan, Vice Minister of China's State Science and Technology Commission (SSTC) and daughter of the late Chinese paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, oversaw the signing of a letter of agreement on December 11, 1997 with Laura Utley, founder of Global Communications for Conservation, a New York-based environmental group, setting the stage for an unprecedented cooperative venture in environmental education.

The agreement, signed at the Asia Society headquarters here, creates a partnership -- the Chinese Environmental Global Alliance (CEGA) -- through which environmental education textbooks developed in America will be translated for use in Chinese schools.

The first American textbooks to be translated and distributed to schools and teachers in China will be the Environmental Action Series produced by the E2 Foundation. Later, texts geared for both college students and elementary school-aged children will be translated while environmental education programs for government officials will also be developed.

"This is the first instance of such cooperation between China and the U.S. private sector that we are aware of, and we are pleased to be launching such an historic joint program," Ms. Utley said, "Environmental protection is a global concern and we need to educate as many people as possible to ensure a sustainable future."

Madam Deng Nan, who was in New York to receive the Safari Planet Earth Award for her efforts to advance sustainable development in China, described CEGA as "the beginning of an important dialogue with America from which we both can learn much."

"Environmental education across all sectors of society is the foundation for technological initiatives that will allow us to improve the quality of all life in the coming new millenium," Madam Deng Nan added.

An active proponent of environmental conservation, Madam Deng was one of the architect's of China's Agenda 21 strategy for sustainable development, one of the first national strategies to grow out of the historic Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

The objective of the CEGA project is to work with Chinese educators in developing new strategies for heightening environmental awareness and to assist in the training of government officials to integrate environmental concerns into the political decision making process.

Dr. Brad Smith, former Director of Environmental Education for the US Environmental Protection Agency and currently Dean of the Huxley College of Environmental Studies at Western Washington University, stressed the importance of environmental education as China moves towards sustainable development.

"Partnership programs that address the critical needs of environmental education are the way to go." Smith said, "In the United States, we are learning that environmental protection is equally linked to education and cooperation as it is to legislation and regulation. As this initiative develops, there will be increasing opportunity for US environmental technology to be adopted in China. We are beginning to understand that environmental protection translates into good business and in the case of China it could be very good business."

Smith, the author of Environmental Science: The Study of Interrelationships, a leading university text, also was encouraged about future partnership programs that will address higher education. "From the university perspective the US has much to share with China as well as much to learn from China."

Professor Gan Shijun, the Director-General of the Social Department of SSTC and China's Agenda 21 program, said: "University links between our two countries have historically been strong and the environmental arena is a solid base for building future relationships. It will be exciting to work with the United States in building environmental awareness among students as well as governmental and business leaders. We are committed to making a meaningful and visible stand on behalf of sustainable development. We want an environment that is healthy and a quality of life that is high."

Global Communications for Conservation, Inc., (GCC) was established in 1989 by Laura Utley, to initiate conservation and environmental education programs in the United States, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The organization aim is to increase public awareness about our responsibilities to care for and preserve our environment. GCC facilitates international dialogue on environmental issues and is predicated on the belief that sustainable development can be promoted through environmental education.

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