The government plans to build a national park in the Sanjiangyuan region, the cradle of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

A guideline for the park has been completed by a design institute under the State Forestry Administration, said Wang Enguang, chief engineer with Qinghai's forestry department.

The park will cover more than 30,000 square kilometers, including the rivers' sources in Madoi, Zhidoi and Zadoi counties. If given the green light, construction can begin as early as the end of the year.

“Sanjiangyuan, which is home to more than 70 animal protected species, has a highland ecosystem comprising glaciers, meadows and wetlands. It has an extremely high scientific value,” Wang said.

But global warming and human activity have led to deterioration of the natural environment.

Hoping to repair the fragile ecological system, China established the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve in 2000.

Five years later, a 7.5 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) conservation project was launched in the region. Last January, a second-phase conservation project for Sanjiangyuan started with an investment of 16 billion yuan.

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