Area of wetland in Tibet ranks second nationwide
Wetland, forestry and ocean are three main biological systems in the world. The 21st World Wetland Day, which fell on February 2, aims to focus on the theme of "wetland decreasing the risk of disaster".
Tibet's wetland mainly distributes in the northwestern part of the plateau. The area of wetland in Nagqu is 2.99 million hectares, which is the largest in Tibet.
According to the second survey of wetland resources, the total area of wetland in Tibet is 6.52 million hectares, ranking the second nationwide. With various wetland types, Tibet is the home to special highland wetland in the world. It is also the strategic base for China’s water resource security and important species gene pool. The protection and development of wetland is an initial part in the construction of Tibet’s ecological civilization and the building of beautiful Tibet.
There are five types of wetland in China. Among them, Tibet has four types including lakes, marshes, rivers and constructed wetlands. The natural wetland occupies an area of 6.52 million hectares, accounting for 99.92 percent of total area of wetland in Tibet. The area of lakes, marshes and rivers is 3.03 million hectares, 2.05 million hectares and 1.43 million hectares respectively. Tibet's wetland mainly distributes in the northwestern part of the plateau. The area of wetland in Nagqu is 2.99 million hectares, which is the largest in Tibet.
In Tibet's wetland, there are 57 kinds of birds, 71 kinds of fishes, 45 amphibian species, 55 kinds of reptiles and 132 species of mammal. Among theme, 47 species are national protected animals, out of which 20 are national first class protective animals and 27 national second class protective animals. In addition, there are 591 species of vegetation.
At the moment, Mawang Yutso wetland an Mitika wetland are listed as international important wetlands. 19 wetland nature reserves such as Lhalu Wetland and Ra-ok Lake Wetland have been built.
The area of Tibet’s wetland protected reaches 4.3 million hectares, accounting for 65.98 percent of the total area of Tibet’s wetland.