Conserving the ecology around the upper reaches of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers is vital for the sustainable development of the middle and lower reaches of both rivers.

But, the underdeveloped regions surrounding the upper reaches can hardly afford to maintain the region's fragile ecological balance, and need urgent financial aid from the central government as well as developed provinces in the middle and lower reaches.

One way to increase revenue is by exploiting the mineral resources in the region, but that will only worsen pollution in the rivers and contaminate the local environment.

As such, the regions on the periphery of the upper reaches are facing a dilemma.

An ecological compensation mechanism, which requires both the beneficiaries and polluters to pay for any damages to its pristine ecology, may be one way out of this flux.

The National Development and Reform Commission is now probing the best way to draft regulations for such a mechanism.

This indicates that the central government has realized the importance of ecological conservation in the upper reaches of both rivers, as they are the most important rivers in China and their ecological well-being impacts the sustainable development of the entire nation.

Felling of trees during the 1950s and land erosion in the past few decades have already rendered the ecology there very fragile. Once local governments grant industries permission to exploit the region's mineral resources, the environment will deteriorate at a speed beyond our imagining.

Given the fact that some polluting industries are being transferred from coastal areas to the vast western regions, the central government must quickly formulate a policy that will prevent such industries from discharging their hazardous waste into the upper reaches of both rivers.

A compensation mechanism to mitigate the impact of any likely ecological disaster also needs to be put in place.