Friends of Nature (FON, ) is the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

's oldest environmental

non-government organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

. On March 31, 1994, the organization was officially registered under the name Green Culture Institute of the International Academy of Chinese Culture under the

Ministry of Civil Affairs The Ministry of Civil Affairs is a ministry in the State Council of the People's Republic of China, responsible for social and administrative affairs. It was founded in May 1978, and the current Minister is Tang Dengjie. Its precedent was the Mini ...

. The focus of the group is to raise awareness about environmental protection ( such as saving endangered species, recycling,

energy conservation Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively (using less energy for continuous service) or changing one's behavior to use less service (f ...

etc.) through workshops, field trips and the training of teachers. Furthermore, FON has been instrumental in the development of other environmental NGOs and student groups across China because NGOs in China are technically forbidden from establishing branch offices. FON was China's first legal NGO.

People

FON was founded by Liang Congjie, son of

Liang Sicheng Liang Sicheng (; 20 April 1901 – 9 January 1972) was a Chinese architect and architectural historian, known as the father of modern Chinese architecture. His father, Liang Qichao, was one of the most prominent Chinese scholars of the early 20t ...

and

Lin Huiyin Lin Huiyin (; known as Phyllis Lin or Lin Whei-yin when in the United States; 10 June 1904 – 1 April 1955) was a Chinese architect and writer. She is known to be the first female architect in modern China and her husband the famed "Father of M ...

, two of the leading

architectural historians An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it. Professional requirements As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...

in 20th century China. The activist Hu Jia became interested in environmental issues while participating in the activities of FON.

Tibetan antelope

In 1996, FON members traveled to

Kekexili Hoh Xil or Kekexili, ( Mongolian for "Blue Ridge", also Aqênganggyai for "Lord of Ten Thousand Mountains"), is an isolated region in the northeastern part of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. On July 7, 2017, the Hoh Xil in Qinghai was listed among the ...

to collect information about the

Tibetan antelope The Tibetan antelope or chiru (''Pantholops hodgsonii'') (, pronounced ; ) is a medium-sized bovid native to the northeastern Tibetan plateau. Most of the population live within the Chinese border, while some scatter across India and Bhutan in ...

population. Two years later, FON held a series of conferences about the protection of the Tibetan antelope in conjunction with several international NGOs including

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

and

International Fund for Animal Welfare The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world. The organization works to rescue individual animals, safeguard populations, preserve habitat, and advocate for great ...

. The conferences raised awareness about the plight of the antelope. In October 1998, Liang Congjie submitted an open letter to the British Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

asking the United Kingdom to stop illegal trade on Tibetan antelope fur. Mr. Blair responded the next day, showing his concern and support for the Chinese program to protect the antelope.{{Cite web , url=http://cheap-battery-shop.com/the-death-of-the-son-of-liang-liang-congjie-antelope-who-have-preserved-a-letter-to-british-prime-minister/ , title=The death of the son of Liang Liang Congjie antelope who have preserved a letter to British Prime Minister « Cheap Battery Shop , access-date=2011-11-14 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425162140/http://cheap-battery-shop.com/the-death-of-the-son-of-liang-liang-congjie-antelope-who-have-preserved-a-letter-to-british-prime-minister/ , archive-date=2012-04-25 , url-status=dead Tony Blair's response prompted global media attention and large numbers of people set to join the program, helping fund and provide assistance to FON's campaign.

References

External links

Official homepage (Chinese)Official information in English
Environmental organizations based in China