Published by: World Tibet Network News, Wednesday, March 6th 1996

BEIJING March 5, (AP) -- A northwestern Chinese province plans to establish a $2-million nature preserve to protect dozens of endangered animal species, an official report said Tuesday.

The 18,000-square-mile Altun Nature Reserve, in the remote southeastern corner of Xinjiang, would be China's largest.

Its snowcapped peaks, glaciers and lakes are a habitat for 60,000 Tibetan wild asses, nearly 80,000 Tibetan antelopes and 10,000 wild yaks, as well as wild camels and black-necked cranes -- all species under state protection, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Some 60 endangered wildlife species and 300 types of rare plants are native to the preserve, it said.

Authorities have managed in the past two years to crack down on illegal gold-mining in the preserve, which was threatening the environment and wildlife, the report said.

It said the government would take steps to prevent further "human sabotage." A gene data bank and artificial breeding center are also planned.

The region is seeking an additional $200,000 to complete the project, Xinhua said.