Gyaring and Ngoring lakes on the
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in northwest China were recently added to the
list of designated wetland reserves of international importance,
known as Ramsar Wetlands.
The two lakes, 4,500 meters above
sea level, are the two largest freshwater sources of the Yellow
River, China's second longest. The two lake areas are characterized
by high, cold meadows dotted with wetland, and used to be one of
the best pastoral regions in Madoi County in northwest China's Qinghai
Province.
Originating from the Bayan Har
Mountain, the Yellow River runs through the Gyaring and Ngoring
lakes and surges eastward "like a giant dragon" across the northern
part of the country.
The two lakes play an important
role in regulating water flow, purifying water quality and
controlling floods, said Xu Guohai, deputy head of the Qinghai
Provincial Forestry Bureau.
As part of the Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau, Qinghai Province is endowed with wetlands, lakes,
marshlands and glaciers, which serves as a natural biological gene
bank and cradle of human civilization.
Apart from the two lakes, seven
other wetlands in China were added to list of designated wetland
reserves of international importance. China's Ramsar Wetland sites
have thus increased to 30,covering 3.43 million hectares and making
up 9.4 percent of the country's natural wetland area.
China became a contracting party of the Ramsar Convention in
1992. The Chinese State Forestry Administration (SFA) has set up a
Ramsar Convention Implementing Office to take charge of promoting
international cooperation in this regard.
(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2005)