China's Sanjiangyuan National Park releases master plan for comprehensive protection

XINING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province released a master plan on Wednesday, with an aim to ensure further protection of the park.

With 2021 as the base year, the plan covers the period from 2023 to 2030. According to the plan, by 2030, the grassland vegetation coverage of the park will increase to 69 percent and the population of wildlife under key protection including Tibetan antelope and snow leopard will be stable and healthy.

The Sanjiangyuan area is known as Asia's "water tower" as it contains the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers.

In 2021, China established the first batch of national parks, with a protected land area of 230,000 square km. These parks, namely, the Sanjiangyuan National Park, the Giant Panda National Park, the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park and the Wuyishan National Park, are home to nearly 30 percent of the key terrestrial wildlife species found in the country.