The first phase of an environmental protection project at the Lhalu Wetland, the world's highest natural wetland, was completed recently.

The project was launched in 2002 at a cost of 92.92 million yuan (US$11.2 million). It concluded construction of an 18 kilometer-long enclosure, a silt containing pond covering 27,000 square meters and water diversion channels around and within the wetland.

The wetland covers 6.2 square kilometers in northwest suburb of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, accounting for 11.7 percent of the city's total area. It has an elevation of 3,645 meters.

Dubbed a natural oxygen bar by local people, the wetland absorbs 78,800 tons of carbon dioxide and produces 57,300 tons of oxygen every year. It plays a vital role in maintaining ecological balance in Lhasa, increasing oxygen supply and moderating flood water in rainy season.

However, due to overgrazing, construction of illegal buildings and lack of water supply, Lhalu Wetland has dwindled from 10 sq km to 6.2 sq km. Approved by the Tibet Autonomous Regional Government, the Lhalu wetland reserve was set up in 1995.

Tibet leads China in wetland acreage, or more than 6 million hectares in total that make up 4.9 percent of the region's total area.

(Xinhua News Agency October 28, 2004)