Local governments in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region have implemented a series of measures to protect the region's environment with the local capital Lhasa raising some 50 million yuan ($7.5 million) to regulate its Lalu wetlands. 

The Lhasa government will take several steps to preserve the Lalu wetlands, a nature reserve that covers 625 hectares of central Lhasa and is home to many migratory waterfowl, thepaper.cn reported on Sunday.

The measures include the relocation of families living in the wetlands, according to the report, with a total of 12 households to be made to leave the area. They will receive job opportunities provided by the city government.

The local government will ask the 601-year old Drepung Temple located in the wetland to dismantle its warehouses and plant fruit trees to recoup any lost income. 

Other measures include the restoration of the wetland environment, the prevention of water pollution and a ban on cattle grazing in the area. 

Apart from Lhasa, other cities in the Tibet Autonomous Region including Shannan Prefecture, Ali area and Xigaze are also to up their protection of the local ecology.

The State Forestry Administration (SFA) said on Friday that the Tibet regional government has established 61 nature protection zones. The region boasts rich wildlife and mineral resources. 

The regional government has banned the exploitation of over 800,000 square kilometers of land, accounting for 70 percent of Tibet's total area, according to the SFA. 

In the past decade, Tibet's wetland areas have expanded by 520,000 hectares and its desert area has shrunk by 107,000 hectares.