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"Roof
of the World" Has Rich Bio-diversity
(12/30/2002)
Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, known as the "roof
of the world," is rich in plant and animal bio-diversity, according
to the results of an investigation published recently.
The investigation, carried out this year, shows that the region
boasts more than 6,800 varieties of higher plants, 39 of which are
rare plants under state-level protection.
Tibet is also home to 799 species of wild vertebrate; of this
total, 125 species, more than one-third of the national total, are
under state-level protection. Among 488 species of birds living
in the region, 22 are unique to Tibet.
More than 2,300 species of insects, over 760 kinds of zooplankton
and 340 kinds of water plants of the diatom family also live in
the region.
To better protect the local ecological environment and protect
the range of species living there, Tibet has established 18 nature
reserves of state and regional levels, covering an area of more
than 330,000 square kilometers -- nearly one-third of the region's
total land space.
Meanwhile, local public security departments have launched hard
strikes against activities threatening the safety of wildlife.
This year, the region launched a massive program to prevent soil
erosion, desertification, geological disasters and deterioration
of grassland to safeguard the local ecological environment.
According to a plan, in the first half of this century, a total
of 22.7 billion yuan will be spent on building 160 environment-friendly
projects in the region.
(Xinhua)
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