People living at the source of three of China's major river systems have had
to make a lot of sacrifices.
Animal husbandry, industry and resource exploitation have been banned in
parts of Qinghai Province to ensure the flow of quality water to provinces
downstream.
But there has been a proposal put forward to compensate
people who have had to quit their traditional livelihoods, for the sake of the
environment. 
Qinghai is part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the major source of water for
the Yangtze, Yellow and the Lancang rivers.
"Water, the natural resource we contribute to the downstream provinces as
well as the whole country, is hard to calculate in value," Song Xiuyan, governor
of Northwest China's Qinghai Province said at a press conference on the
sidelines of the NPC session.
"We are sacrificing our short-term benefits for the long-term benefits of the
whole country."
About 40 percent of Qinghai's territory contributes directly to the river
system and must be protected, with the central government committing to pour in
7.5 billion yuan ($968 million) to fund protection work in the area.
The money is being used to convert rangeland and farmland into grass and
forests and help people relocate.
"We have removed the need for scoring officials on economic achievements for
their performance appraisals," she said, "Instead, we now see their environment
protection work and social development as major factors."
Song said that she hoped the central government would approve an
"eco-compensation mechanism" to benefit people who live within the protected
area.
Downstream provinces are expected to pay Qinghai for giving up industrial
activities so they can have clean water.
"People living within the areas are those who sacrifice most; we crave for
such a mechanism to give them a better life," she said.
Wang Jirong, a CPPCC member and former vice-minister of the State Environment
Protection Administration, said that such a mechanism was vital.
"How can you prevent them from feeding yaks if they (people living within the
area) are starving?" she said.
(China Daily 03/15/2007 page5)
