(ECNS) -- Wildlife populations, including black-necked cranes and snow leopards, have increased markedly in the source region of the Yellow River since the start of China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), according to authorities in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province.
Located in the heart of the Sanjiangyuan region in southeastern Qinghai, Golog serves as a critical water conservation area for the upper reaches of the Yellow River and is an important part of China's "Water Tower of the Nation."
Deng Shengdong, deputy governor of Golog, said at a press conference that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the prefecture invested approximately 3.9 billion yuan (about $576.01 million) in pollution control and the restoration of forests, grasslands, and wetlands.
The region has maintained an air quality excellence rate of over 98.6%, and all 14 surface water monitoring sections across the prefecture have recorded 100% good-quality water.
More than 60% of Golog's total land area has been placed under ecological conservation redlines. Through systematic restoration measures, including mountain closure for forest regeneration, grassland improvement and wetland expansion, vegetation coverage on grasslands has steadily increased. Meanwhile, the water-conservation function of over 93,300 hectares of wetlands has been continuously strengthened, Deng noted.
"As a result, populations of rare wildlife such as snow leopards and black-necked cranes have grown noticeably," he said.
The prefecture has employed more than 14,000 forest, grassland and wetland rangers, and distributed 2.764 billion yuan in subsidies and rewards for grassland ecological protection, achieving a win-win outcome between ecological preservation and increased income for local herders, the deputy governor added.
(By Zhang Dongfang)
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