Friends of World Heritage Fund to abutment efforts to clean panda altar and abutment communities devastated by quake.
Washington, D.C. (Vocus/PRWEB ) June 3, 2008 -- The United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation) today appear an emergency fundraising address to abutment the accretion accomplishment for UNESCO World Heritage sites and surrounding communities impacted by the 7.9-magnitude convulsion that befuddled China's southwestern Sichuan arena on May 12, 2008. Gifts to the Friends of World Heritage Fund (www.FriendsofWorldHeritage.org) will be akin by Expedia, Inc. and the United Nations Foundation axis $1 into $3 (up to the aboriginal $50,000 per accomplice per year). During the China Emergency Appeal, 100% of funds aloft will go anon to these afflicted communities.
Sichuan and Wenchuan provinces, those a lot of impacted by the earthquake, are home to several World Heritage sites, including two acutely afflicted by the quake: Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, home to 30% of the world's actual endangered behemothic pandas, and Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System (located alone 50 km from the epicenter).
We are admiring to plan with UNESCO and the Rapid Response Facility to advice assure the behemothic pandas and restore some of the world's a lot of admired places that were impacted by the contempo quake Many bounded communities await on the jobs and tourism accompanying to these sites and it is important to bottle these sites for locals and visitors to acquaintance and enjoy. The Wolong Nature Reserve, allotment of the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, was a allotment of the hardest hit. While it appears that a lot of of the reserve's 60 pandas are safe and accounted for - acknowledgment in ample allotment to ballsy efforts by assets agents - there are still two pandas missing and abounding others were injured. Tragically, four acreage agents at the assets were aswell killed. And letters from the bounded forestry agency accompaniment that all of the Wolong Reserve's 32 panda houses were destroyed or damaged. These houses are important for ancestry and closing reintroduction of pandas to the agrarian - a analytical attention apparatus back it is estimated that there are beneath than 1600 behemothic pandas larboard in the wild.
"We are admiring to plan with UNESCO and the Rapid Response Facility to advice assure the behemothic pandas and restore some of the world's a lot of admired places that were impacted by the contempo quake," said Erika Harms, controlling administrator of acceptable development, UN Foundation. "Many bounded communities await on the jobs and tourism accompanying to these sites and it is important to bottle these sites for locals and visitors to acquaintance and enjoy."
Daily operations accept basically appear to a arrest in the impacted World Heritage sites due to abundant accident to administration offices, forester stations, agents housing, and added infrastructure. Some sites are absolutely cut off, as the anchorage that advance to them abide impassable. Donations accustomed amid today and June 27, 2008 will go appear rebuilding basement and bartering accessories such as GPS units, sleeping bags, acreage cookers, emergency spotlights, communications equipment, and computers which will advice acreage agents do accelerated assessments of appulse on wildlife, and acquiesce the World Heritage sites to activate the apathetic action of apology and recovery.
To apprentice added about the appulse on these sites, appointment www.FriendsofWorldHeritage.org.
Since its conception in 1999, Friends of World Heritage with founding partners- UNESCO, the UN Foundation, and Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) - and added partners, accept accurate acceptable development projects in and about World Heritage sites.
About Friends of World Heritage
Friends of World Heritage is a grassroots action committed to adopting acquaintance about the accent of attention World Heritage, announcement acceptable development, alms means to analyze these sites through acceptable travel, and adopting funds to abutment projects in communities that depend on World Heritage sites. Friends of World Heritage was created by the United Nations Foundation and its ally are: Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) and UNESCO's World Heritage Centre. For more, appointment www.FriendsofWorldHeritage.org.
About World Heritage
World Heritage sites are places about the apple that accept been internationally accustomed for their outstanding amount as accustomed and cultural treasures. All World Heritage sites are adequate by the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention, active to date by 185 countries and administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). There are currently 851 World Heritage sites (660 cultural, 166 accustomed and 25 alloyed properties). For a complete account of sites, appointment http://whc.unesco.org/.
About the United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation is an advocate for the UN and a belvedere for abutting people, ideas, and basic to advice the United Nations break all-around problems. We body partnerships, abound constituencies, activate assets and advocate action changes to abutment the UN's plan for alone and all-around progress. The UN Foundation's plan - focused on baddest all-around problems - is abbreviating adolescent mortality, convalescent adversity relief, attention assorted cultures and environments, creating a apple-pie activity future, allotment women and girls, and convalescent U.S.-UN relations. For added information, appointment www.UNFoundation.org.
Media Contact:
Amy DiElsi
United Nations Foundation
(o) 202-419-3230, (e) adielsi @ unfoundation.org
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