XINING (May 10) XINHUA - China has worked out a series of research programs to save the grassland of the 2.5-million-sq-km Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, located in the southwest part of China.

Over the past several decades, the grassland has deteriorated because of increasing population, the development of animal husbandry and other economic activities, rats and plant diseases.

The programs will focus on causes of grassland degradation, namely, developing animal husbandry while improving the grassland, getting rid of rats, and establishing experimental zones of grassland recovery.

The plateau has a total population of 9.38 million, covering the Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai, and parts of Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces, and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

It is more than 4,000 meters above sea level, and 3,000 kilometers from east to west and 1,600 from north to south. It accounts for one-fourth of the country's area, and its natural pasture area, 150 million hectares in total, accounts for one-third of the country's total.

Experts point out that it now has 50 million hectares of degraded grassland, one-third of the plateau's total area, and that keeps growing.

The plateau is rich in grassland, forests, water, and mineral resources, as well as rare plants and animals. It is also one of the major animal husbandry bases in the country.