Maqu, a small town lying on the border of the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, and Sichuan, is implementing a national ecology protection project — ecological migration — to protect the Yellow River.

Maqu was called the reservoir of the Yellow River and each year it supplied an average 2.7 billion cubic meters of surface water to the mother river of China. Statistics show that Maqu featured rich marshland and had been one of the best reserved marshlands in China and played an important role in the climate of the Yellow River ranges and the local environment. However, the environmental condition of Maqu has been deteriorating in recent years with its marshland area decreasing and biodiversity reducing. The water it supplies to the Yellow River has also decreased by 15% compared with the 1980's.

The increased of population and greater livestock numbers are believed to be the main causes of the decay of the grassland and marshland in Maqu. As a result, Gansu province plans to invest at least CNY6.64 billion each year from 2007 to 2020 on ecological migration to protect the Maqu marshland and to benefit the Yellow River.

It is learned that the construction of a national ecological reservation area in Maqu has also been approved. The 10-year project will cost a total of CNY6.6 billion.

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