Urumqi legislates to protect wetland

Urumqi, capital city of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, northwest China, has issued a regulation on wetland protection, that will mete out hefty fines to people who damage the wetland.

During a meeting from Wednesday to Thursday, the city legislature approved the regulation, which stipulated that people who cause serious damage to wetland by building dams, causing explosions, herding or burning pasture will be fined up to 50,000 yuan (7,915 U.S. dollars).

The regulation is waiting for approval from the regional legislature.

Urumqi has 21,200 hectares of wetland, accounting for 1.49 percent of the city's total land area, compared with the world average of 8.6 percent and the national average of 5.58 percent. Enditem