The government of Kenli County in east China's Shandong Province has implemented a series of effective measures Wednesday to protect the wetland alongside China's second longest Yellow River.

Covering an acreage of 127,600 hectares, the Yellow River Delta is the biggest, youngest and best preserved wetland in north China. It became the state-level natural preserve in 1992.

However, the chemical pollutants from the nearby Shengli Oilfield, in addition to the frequent droughts and floods in the area, have seriously deteriorated the natural environment of the delta.

To save the precious wetland resources, the government has made regulations forbidding any utilization or reclamation of land of the delta. Anyone who has already broken the rules must immediately stop and must restore the original natural and ecological features of the wetland.

The local government has also extended the wetland protection by establishing a vast buffer area outside the Yellow River Delta.It has also plans to build a number of small wetland preserves near the delta.

The Yellow River flow with a large amount of silt, which deposits at the estuary and has so far formed about 330 sq. km of wetland.

(Xinhua News Agency October 28, 2004)