The expansion of the rehabilitation area will surely help the protection of the water ecosystem, Wang said.

Both Song and Wang welcomed the central government's decision to motivate society to participate, and praised the importance the government attached to the private sector.

"It will be quite difficult to protect the environment if we mainly rely on the government, " Wang said.

Enterprises that have been prospering at the expense of the environment should shoulder more responsibilities, Song said.

The government should also give more preferential policies to the development of NGOs that are active in environmental protection, Song added.

The Sanjiangyuan Natural Reserve has benefited many provinces by providing water resources for economic development, especially provinces along the Yangtze River.

An eco-compensation system should be built to collect money from those provinces, which will be invested for the protection in the reserve, Wang added.

The State Council meeting also passed a plan to make Gansu province an ecological security shelter zone for Northwest China and the mainland, vowing to promote the rational use of water resources in the region and the optimization of industry structure.

The State Council also ordered protection of good-quality water in West China and the country's five large lakes in East China be strengthened.

The council also heard a report on the treatment of wind-drift sand in Beijing and Tianjin.

Non-government sectors will be encouraged to participate in forest planting to reduce the sand and wind, and those that meet technology standards can get subsidies, the statement said.