First national park receiving strong legal and financial support

A shepherd takes his flock to graze on a grass-covered slope in the Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Qinghai province.[Photo/Xinhua]

China's first national park will develop rapidly this year, with stronger legal and financial support from Qinghai province, the top provincial official said on Wednesday.

The plan for Sanjiangyuan National Park will set specific targets for environmental protection, Wang Guosheng, Party chief of Qinghai province, said on Wednesday at a group discussion of the ongoing session of the national legislature.

"Both are important legal measures: To build the national park and support environmental protection in this key regions," said Wang, adding that they will also make special plans for major natural resources in the region.

The province plans to allocate 1 billion yuan ($144.8 million) in 2017 for infrastructure construction, said Li Xiaonan, head of the park's administration bureau.

Under management of the national park, herders and farmers will be major forces behind environmental protection, said the provincial Party chief.

The work is expected to provide jobs, boost farmers' incomes and give them an incentive to protect the environment, he said.

Sanjiangyuan National Park, covering 123,100 square kilometers in Qinghai, is home to the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang (Mekong) rivers, which run through more than 20 provincial regions in China, making the region critical for water resources in the country.