Posted on behalf of Jane Qiu.

China’s State Council, the country’s top government body, last week approved a 20-year plan to protect ecosystems of the Tibetan plateau, according to the website of the Environmental Protection Ministry.

“The Tibetan plateau is important not only to China but also to central and southeast Asia,” says Yao Tandong, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Beijing-based Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research. “The significance of the plan cannot be overstated.”

With an average elevation of 4,000 metres above the sea level, the Tibetan plateau is particularly sensitive to climate change. In the past 50 years, the temperature of the region has risen by over 0.3 degrees Celcius a decade – approximately three times the global warming rate (see Nature 454, 393–396, 2008).

According to the second Chinese national glacier inventory which was completed last year, the toal surface area of the country’s 24,300 glaciers – most of which are on the Tibetan plateau – had decreased by 17% and many had disappeared since the previous inventory began, roughly 30 years ago (see Nature 468, 141-142, 2010).

Researchers say that the impact of climate change has been exacerbated by human activities, such as pollution, over-grazing, tourism and mining. “Many of the ecosystems on the Tibetan plateau are being degraded or used unsustainably ,” says Yao.

The new plan lists 10 priority protection zones in six provinces and autonomous regions – Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Xinjiang – targeting headwater areas and key ecosystems, such as grassland, wetland, forests and areas that are rich in biodiversity. It will tackle erosion and desertification and prevent geological hazards.

The scheme will increase the capacity for preventing and treating pollution and promote environment-friendly farming and industry practices. It is also set to raise the standard of ecological research and set up long-term monitoring, evaluation and warning systems for climate change and ecosystem protection.

While the central government clearly appreciates the importance of the fragile ecosystems of the Tibetan plateau, the implementation of the plan may be an uphill struggle because of the emphasis some of the provinces place on economic development.

For example, both Tibet and Qinghai provinces aim to achieve an annual increase of 12% in gross domestic product by 2015, according to a report published last week in The China Business News, a Chinese-language newspaper – despite of Premier Wen Jiabao’s pledge for slower economic growth.

In addition, ambitious plans for the development of mining industry and power plants, especially hydropower, in some of the provinces may also pose serious threats to ecological protection on the Tibetan plateau.