Tibet to Maintain China's Cleanest Area

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 29, 2002

Tibet to Maintain China's Cleanest Area

Tibet will invest 78 million yuan ( 9.4 million U.S. dollars) this year to expand forested areas at the uppermost reaches of the Yangtze River.

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Tibet will invest 78 million yuan ( 9.4 million U.S. dollars) this year to expand forested areas at the uppermost reaches of the Yangtze River.

Nearly 80 percent of the funds will be provided by the central government. Under the plan, trees will be planted on 2,051 hectares of land.

This was part of the efforts to keep Tibet as one of the cleanest places in China.

The autonomous region has created 18 nature reserves of state and regional level with a total area of 330,000 sq km, which cover more than 27 percent of the region's territory.

Tibet, also known as a "gene bank", is endowed with over 6,800 kinds of plants, 39 of which are rare species on the verge of extinction. It also boasts 125 rare wild animals -- a third of China's total -- including the wild yak, black-necked crane and snow leopard.

Tibet is the least polluted place in China. Days with pure air in Lhasa, the regional capital, have risen to 247 annually. Acid rain has never occurred in the region. The water quality of the main rivers all over the region is good and most of the lakes are in their pristine state.

A local government official attributed the good environment in Tibet to sustained protection measures taken by the central and local government over the past few years.

The region has built a tree belt covering 26,700 hectares along the Yarlung Zangbo River.

Last year, Tibet launched the largest ecological protection scheme in its history. It will comprise 160 afforestation projects, costing 22.7 billion yuan (273 million U.S. dollars).

Tibet began a ban on logging in Jomda, Markam, and Gonjo counties of Qamdo Prefecture on January 1, 1999, in a bid to protect natural forests and improve the environment of the region.

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Tibet to Promote Environmental Protection