Major environmental projects planned for Tibet
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-02-13 17:20

A total of 6 billion yuan (US$750) will be invested on environmental protection projects in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region during the country's 11th Five-Year Program period (2006-2010).

According to the regional finance bureau, a number of key projects featuring the protection of local natural resources such as forests, grasslands, marshlands and headstreams of rivers and lakes will meet the targets of the environmental protection program.

Meanwhile, the region will carry out measures to preserve rare plants and animals in order to maintain the balance between nature and social development.

In addition, major efforts will be made to solve problems that have arisen from fast development of industrial and economic activities, including urban waste water and garbage disposal, to reforest farmland, to control water pollution and to protect the rural environment.

During the 10th Five-Year Program (2001-2005), Tibet achieved remarkable progress in environmental protection.

By 2005, 38 nature reserves had been set up across the region with a total land area of 408,300 sq km, making it the biggest in China and accounting for 34 percent of the region.

China's total investment in environmental protection is estimated to reach 1.3 trillion yuan (about US$162.5) in the coming five years, said sources from the State Environmental Protection Administration.