Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve, located in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, has greatly improved its environment thanks to strengthened protection efforts from the government, local authorities report.

As the Qinghai Province decided to ban tourism activities in the core zones and buffer zones of national nature reserves, the reserve closed its Bird Island and Sand Island to tourists on August 29, 2017, renaming it Bird Island Wetland of International Importance.

This has helped mark the boundaries for the nature reserves and protect the local ecosystem. Without cars of tourists running back and forth, which would scare the birds away, the roads have become a common area for the birds to nest and provide care for their fledglings.

After two years of progress, the island has welcomed 27 new species and become home to over 200,000 birds, showing a remarkable increase in biodiversity.

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(Cover: VCG)

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