2008 Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation awarded to Fan Meng; first Chin...( NEW YORK CITY Fan Meng of China a v...)

NEW YORK CITY Fan Meng of China, a visionary leader who implemented most of the first Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Chinas rapidly industrializing Guangdong Province, has been awarded the prestigious Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation. He will use the Fellowship to expand and improve the regions MPA network and thereby safeguard the extensive coastal areas from the serious threats of industrial pollution and unsustainable fishing.

Mr. Meng is the first-ever Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation from China, and is Director of the General Management Office for Ocean and Fishery Natural Preserves in Guangdong Province. He is among five of the worlds most innovative and progressive thinkers in ocean science to receive this highly competitive three-year, $150,000 fellowship in support of critical marine environment conservation initiatives. The Pew Institute for Ocean Science administers the awards and today announced the 2008 Fellows, whose projects will be based in China, Florida, France, Australia and Canada. . (Learn more about the other recipients and their projects at www.pewoceanscience.org).

Because Mr. Meng and his team will establish a wider and sounder Marine Protected Area network in the region, ocean environments in Guangdong Province will have a much better chance of being protected, to the benefit of marine life that resides there and future generations of Cantonese, said Dr. Ellen Pikitch, Executive Director of the Pew Institute for Ocean Science. We are extremely pleased to support Mr. Mengs innovative project -- the first Pew Fellowship project to be conducted in China.

Guangdong Province is located in southeast mainland China and borders the South China Sea. It is home to 80 million people and has 2,100 miles of winding coastline, the longest stretch in the country. Industry, commercial fishing, and environmental exploitation in Guangdong Province have grown rapidly in r
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