Land Rover will team up with China's 'greatest living explorer' and fellow of the Royal Geographical Society - Wong How Man, who has expanded his exploration work to include conservation of some of China's most endangered natural and cultural heritage.
Wong famously led China Exploration & Research Society (CERS) expeditions that pinpointed the sources of the Yangtze (2005), the Mekong (2007) and the Yellow (2008) rivers.
In 2011, the focus of the CERS summer expedition was to reach the source of the Salween River; an undertaking that has evaded geographers and scientists for decades. Despite immense difficulties and setbacks, including a sudden snowstorm at the height of summer, the team reached the source on 14 June.
The latest CERS wildlife projects include researching the Tibetan Antelope calving ground at the Arjin Mountain Nature Reserve, which is an extremely remote region of Xinjiang, fringing upon the Tibetan plateau. It is also home to rare and exotic breeds of the Asiatic Beaver, Wild Yak, Black-necked Crane and Musk Deer.
The CERS caving teams were recently featured on a major state television science channel for discovering of a new species of blind cave-dwelling fish, and there are plans for four further caving expeditions in 2012.
Cultural preservation is another focus for CERS and the teams have preserved 15 traditional thatch-roofed houses of the Li minority people of Hainan Island in southern China, in support of the Lisu Hill Tribe community. It also successfully saved one of the world's last remaining timber courtyard houses of the Lisu hunting/collecting tribe of remote Yunnan Province in southwest China.
Future plans will include beekeeping research, which is a pressing issue worldwide.
Wong How Man, Founder of CERS and world-renowned explorer said: "CERS takes on multiple expeditions and projects throughout the year with a large team from around the world. For our explorers and scientists, Land Rover not only provides a means of transportation through some of the most difficult and inhospitable terrains on this planet, but also act as an essential shelter in the most extreme weather conditions along the way."