The fifth "Earth Award," a major award for environmental protection in China, was presented to 30 environmentalists Sunday for their outstanding performance in this
field.

Among the 30 winners were journalists, teachers, university professors, and farmers, said Shang Hui, deputy secretary general of the China Environment Journalists' Association (CEJA).

Established in 1997, the Earth Award, jointly sponsored by the CEJA and the Hong Kong-based environmentalist group Friends of the Earth, is handed out annually. So far, a total of 134 people have won the award in China.

Those who have worked for environmental protection in journalism, education and other walks of the society for five years are qualified to compete for the award, Shang said.

"The Earth Award honors not only the efforts these environmentalists made but also their continuous devotion to this work," said Wufang Xiaowei, secretary general of the Friends of the Earth, a major environmentalist group in Hong Kong with over 1, 000 individual members and 100 group members.

The award first introduced a prize for youth groups this year, and ten groups from primary schools, high schools and universities in Beijing won the prize.

"These kids worked really hard on environment issues and to raise social awareness," Wufang Xiaowei said. "They showed us a promising future of our work."