Qinghai Province controls desertification in Sanjiangyuan area

　　BEIJING, Aug. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- The governmnet of Qinghai Province, northwest China, has spent 12 million yuan RMB (1.77 million U.S. dollars) checking desertification and planting grass on 11,620 hectares of land in the Sanjiangyuan area in the past four years.

　　Photo shows a flock of sheep browsing in the Sanjiangyuan area on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. (Xinhua Photo)

　　The Sanjianyuan area, located at the hinterland on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is the source of Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers.

　　Known as the "water tower of China", the area serves as a major ecological barrier and water source reservoir for China and the world as a whole.

　　Desertification, one of the most serious ecological problems in the area, not only damages grasslands and impedes the growth of local animal husbandry, but also blocks watercourses and reduces the surface of lakes, thus damaging the conservation function of water sources.

　　Photo shows a flock of sheep browsing in the Sanjiangyuan area on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. (Xinhua Photo)

　　Artificial sand barriers have been spotted on both sides of No.214 National Route in Maduo County, Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. The man-made stone grids and drought-resistant plants have fixed the moving dunes.

　　Li Dawei, deputy director of the Forestry Bureau of Maduo County, said, "Previously, there were moving dunes; now, they have been turned into oases. The wind-proof and sand fixation projects have really paid off."