The China part of the Fourth International Photographic Competition on the Environment started in Beijing on Friday.

With the theme of "celebrating diversity", this year's competition encourages professional photographers as well as amateurs to submit works on biodiversity.

Officially launched in 1991 in New York and Tokyo, the International Photographic Competition on the Environment is held every four years by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).It was designed to serve as a powerful voice in raising global awareness and promoting action to save the environment.

The past three competitions have collected tens of thousands ofphotos from 160 countries, of which Chinese ones account for one fifth. The gold prize of the fist competition went to a photo named "Colorful Hot Springs" by Luo Jinhui, a Chinese photographer.

"We hope to encourage the Chinese public to shoot photos on environmental problems or progress around them. We believe it is an effective way to promote environmental protection awareness," said Xia Kunbao, coordinator of UNEP's China office.

Pan Xulin, photographer of China News Agency who has registeredfor the 2004 competition, said there will be more quality works from China due to spreading digital cameras and increasing public awareness of the environment of the country in recent years.

Source:Xinhua