Three foreigners from Germany, Italy and Canada were recently rewarded in Beijing for their outstanding contributions to China's fight against environmental degradation.

The award, known as the Prize for International Cooperation on Environmental Protection, is given annually by the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) to foreigners who contribute significantly to environmental protection in China.

The three winners for the year are Heiner Kluge, course director of the Training Program Center for International Postgraduate Studies under Dresden Technische University in Germany, Andree De Angelis, program manager of the Sino-Italian Cooperation Program for Environmental Protection, and Hau-sing Tse, deputy chief of the Canadian International Development Agency.

According to the SEPA, Kluge has contributed greatly to the training of a large number of Chinese environmental protection officials who are now playing an important role in the country's fight against environmental degradation.

Angelis has actively promoted Sino-Italian cooperation on environmental protection, helping bring to China technologies, funds and management experience badly needed by the country to improve the environment.

Tse has made an important contribution to the establishment and operation of the China Council for International Cooperation and Development, an advisory body for the Chinese government, and stepped up Sino-Canadian cooperation on environmental protection in China.

"We could not have scored so many achievements in combating environmental degradation without this precious international support," said a senior official of the SEPA at the award ceremony.

(China Daily December 5, 2005)