More Tibet wetlands get state backing

LHASA - The State Forestry Administration has agreed to provide financial and promotional support for four new wetland parks in Tibet.

Its approval of the parks in Chamdo City, Shannan Prefecture and Nagqu Prefecture brings the number of wetland parks with state backing in Tibet to 14, said Zhang Hucheng, deputy director of wildlife protection with the regional forestry department.

The new parks cover 15,400 hectares. One of them, Drolma Langtso, is at the source of the Nujiang River.

"Establishing more wetland parks will help us protect water resources and biodiversity," Zhang said.

With more than 6.5 million hectares of wetland, Tibet has more than 5 percent of China's total.

The Tibetan regional government has allocated 48 million yuan (about 7.3 million U.S. dollars) for the 2016-2018 period to compensate the local communities for their contribution to the protection of the wetlands.