Qinghai has an important ecological position. There are sources of Yangtze River, Yellow River and Lancang River in the south, Qilian Mountain, the "source of life" in Qinghai and Gansu provinces in the north, Qinghai Lake, the largest saltwater lake in China in the northeast, and Qaidam Basin, the "cornucopia" in China in the west.
Shi Jianping, deputy director of the Water Resources Department of Qinghai Province, said that during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, water conservancy in Qinghai Province will be laid out according to four sub-areas: Heyuan key ecological function area, Hehuang basin, Qaidam basin and the area around Qinghai Lake (Pan-Gonghe basin).
The southern part of Qinghai is the birthplace of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Lancang River, and the northern part is the Qilian Mountain, the "source of life" of Qinghai and Gansu provinces. The key ecological functional areas in the headwaters of Qinghai will focus on preventive protection and natural restoration, strengthen the control of water ecological space, limit human activities, implement a number of water ecological protection and restoration and major water conservation projects when necessary, increase the prevention and control of soil erosion, and improve the water conservation capacity.
For Hehuang River Basin in eastern Qinghai, priority will be given to water conservation. On the basis of supporting the construction and water-saving renovation of medium-sized irrigation areas, we will speed up major projects such as the second phase of poverty alleviation irrigation in the main canal of the Yellow River in the north and the irrigation area in the main canal of the Yellow River in the west, start the strategic water conservancy project of "drawing water from the Yellow River" and small and medium-sized water sources and supporting projects in this basin, and strive to build the Huangshui River with complementary water sources, coordinated urban and rural areas and precise control.
The western part of Qinghai Province is the "cornucopia" of China-Qaidam Basin. It is reported that there is no backbone water resources allocation project in Qaidam Basin, so it is necessary to give full play to regional advantages and strengthen water resources allocation capacity. Focus on promoting the construction of key water sources and supporting projects such as Nalenggele River, Xujixia and Xiangride, speed up the preliminary research work of "diverting water to help firewood", and build a "three horizontal and three vertical" water resources allocation system with reasonable layout, combined storage and diversion, multi-source complementarity, rich and poor regulation, and economy, so as to effectively improve the carrying capacity of water resources.
The area around Qinghai Lake (Pan-Gonghe Basin) will focus on strengthening system governance and promoting regional green development. According to the construction requirements of national park demonstration province and the functional orientation of land space development in Qinghai Province, the scope of water conservation and water ecological space is delineated, the ecological environment protection is strengthened, and the management of scenic forests, fields, lakes and grasses is continuously promoted. Accelerate the water resources allocation project in Gonghe Basin and its surrounding areas, prevent grassland degradation and desertification, promote the balance between grass and livestock, support the construction of eco-tourism and modern animal husbandry development demonstration zones, and rationally develop clean energy.