Tibet to ban gold mining to protect environment
14 June 2007
The local authorities of China's Tibet Autonomous Region are set to ban the mining of gold, mercury, arsenic and peat to preserve mineral resources and protect the environment, Xinhua (in Chinese) reported. "Although Tibet boasts rich resources of arsenic and gold, we will still ban the exploitation of these resources for the sake of environmental protection," said Wang Baosheng, director of Tibet's Land and Resources Department. Dubbed Asia's water tower, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has abundant resources of water, wetlands and grasslands. Thirty-eight nature reserves have been established in Tibet encompassing an area of 408,300 square kilometers, accounting for 34 percent of the region's total land area.