Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has 6.53 million hectares of wetland, with the wetland ratio of 5.31 percent, which ranks the second in China.

In the past decade, 8.82 percent of wetlands have disappeared in China, and been converted to farmland or used for infrastructure.

However, Tibet issued a wetlands protection regulation in 2011, and has invested 347 million yuan (56.5 million U.S. dollars) in the protection and rehabilitation of wetlands.

Thanks to the efforts, Tibet's wetlands area has increased by 8.7 percent in contrast to that in 2003.

Photo taken on Feb.2 shows the Lhalu Wetland - the "Lung of Lhasa" - in Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]

Photo taken on Feb.2 shows the Lhalu Wetland - the "Lung of Lhasa" - in Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]