Mar. 19, 2018 -- Northwestern China's Qinghai province has taken a string of measures to make sure that China's first national park in the Sanjiangyuan area will open as scheduled in 2020. The Sanjiangyuan area, located in southern part of Qinghai province, is home to the headstreams of Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang (Mekong) Rivers. It is an important water source reserve and a protective screen for ecological security. It is the first pilot program for China's national park system. With a total area of 123,100 square kilometers, it will be established on the regions around the water sources, covering five sub-areas of conservation including Kekexili National Nature Reserve and Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve. With the aim of protecting the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow, and Lancang (Mekong) rivers, it is scheduled by 2020 to officially become China's first national park administered by the central government. According to a plan issued by the National Development and Reform Com-mission in January, by 2020, the park would take shape as a demonstration zone of ecological protection and restoration on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and a natural conservation zone of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. By then, it will also be a pioneer zone on which the human and nature could co-exist harmoniously, reads the plan. By 2025, the country shall have formed unique national park services, as well as management and research systems. |