Ga Ma, director of the Everest National Nature Reserve Management Bureau, says that the Tibetan Everest National Nature Reserve Marsh Land Protection Program, which involves a total investment of over RMB14 million, has been approved by the national government and will be formally carried out next year.

According to ENNRMB, the one-year program will involve closed fostering of more than 5900 hectares of marshland and a recovery of over 4400 hectares of marshland, while building up observation stations for ecology, meteorology, hydrology and bird species. Ga Ma says the project will play an active role in radically protecting the marshland and maintain the biodiversity in the Everest areas.

The marshland on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is an important global oxygen resource and a source for maintaining the underground water level, increasing air moisture and maintaining biological balance in the area.

The Everest Nature Reserve lies on the border of Tibet and Nepal. It was originally set up in October 1988 with the approval of the Tibet Autonomous Region government and later upgraded to a national nature reserve in April 1994 by the State Council. Occupying a total area of 33000 square kilometers, it is one of the reserves in Tibet that features the richest biodiversity. There are more than 2300 kinds of advanced plants and over 270 kinds of animals, including 33 kinds which are under the national protection in the reserve.