China's State Council, or Cabinet, approved on Wednesday a plan to protect the ecological environment in the Tibet Autonomous Region against the global climate change.

The regional government should place priority on environmental protection in Tibet, ensure the country's ecological safety and improve the living conditions of farmers and herdsmen in the southwestern autonomous region, according to an executive meeting of the State Council.

"As the main component of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Tibet has a very special and diversified ecological system," the plan read. "More measures are needed in face of the global climate change affecting world ecological environment."

According to the plan, China will strengthen pasture protection against desertification and help restore grasslands devoured by sand.

The country will also reinforce preservation of wetlands and natural reserves, build up a shelter belt against gales and storms and work to raise forest coverage.

Other environmental-friendly measures to be taken include a project to promote the use of clean energy, such as solar power and firedamp in farming and pasture regions, and a mechanism to strengthen the supervision of ecological system in Tibet.

With an average sea level above 4,000 meters, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is cradle to many rivers, including the Yellow River and the Yangtze River which runs through Tibet.

Tibet is also famous for its more than 6 million hectares of wetland and is home to endangered species such as the Tibetan antelope.

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2009)