World Tibet Network News Friday, March 27th, 1998

BEIJING, March 26 (AFP) - China's largest lake, in remote northwestern Qinghai province, is drying up because of overuse for irrigation and lifestock, Xinhua said Thursday.

"The Qinghai lake is a key point for the ecological balance of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and measures must be taken to protect the lake," experts at the Chinese Academy of Sciences told the news agency.

"Overuse of the lake water for agricultural purposes has caused an oversupply of water drained from the lake," researcher Chen Guichen said.

According to the lake's water resources protection bureau, the water level dropped an average 10 centimetres (four inches) a year between 1959 and 1982.

Emergency measures then led to the lake rising an average 10 centimetres a year from 1983 to 1989. But for the last decade, the lake's water level has again dropped off.

"Over-grazing of livestock is one of the most important factors that is leading to desertification," Chen said, adding the area could only support 1.94 million head of livestock but currently had in excess of three million.

The Qinghai lake currently has an area of 5,694 square kilometres (2,278

square miles) and is famous for its huge quantities of fish and birds.