XINING, March 31 (CEIS) -- Water quality on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, widely known as the "Roof of the world," is deteriorating, according to a recent survey of the region.

    Thirty to forty percent of the wetlands at the main peak of the Tanggula Mountains in Qinghai Province, the source of the Yangtze River, have deteriorated. Half the rivers in the province, birthplace of China's three largest rivers, have dried up. Glaciers have retreated by 15 percent to 18 percent, according to the provincial water resources department.

    An estimated area of 382,000 square kilometers in Qinghai has suffered soil erosion, nearly half of Qinghai's total territory. The eroded area is expanding at an annual rate of 36 million square kilometers.

    The water in Qinghai Lake, which covers a water area of some 4,000 square kilometers in the northern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has fallen by 360 million cubic meters annually due to little rainfall and high evaporation. The water level of the lake, China's largest inland saltwater lake, dropped by 3.6 meters during 1959-2001. Its water surface shrank by 313 square kilometers.

    The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau covers Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and some parts of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. The plateau coversan area of 2.5 million square kilometers, about one fourth of China's land territory. It is the source of numerous rivers running through China and other countries in south Asia and east Asia.

    Han Yongrong, an official with the Qinghai Provincial Water Conservancy Department, blamed the deteriorated environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau on global warming and increased human activity. Enditem