Tibet's natural forest protection project aiming to keep its sky blue and water clear has made it become one of the areas with the best original ecology and biodiversity in the world.

Since the natural forest protection project was implemented in 2000, a total investment of about 169.4 million dollars has been made. After 15 years of protection and construction, the forest land area and shrub land area covered by the project have increased to 551,07 hectares and 750,71 hectares respectively.

Tibet is one of the regions with the richest forest resources in China. According to the latest survey results, Tibet has a forest land area of 17.8 million hectares, a forest area of 14.7 million hectares and a forest growing stock of 2.26 billion cubic meters, ranking the first in the country. Rich forest resources play an irreplaceable role in safeguarding the ecological security and preserving the ecological environment of Tibet.

As the main body of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Tibet is not only the "source of the rivers" in China and even the whole Asia but also an important ecological security barrier.

During the 50 years since the establishment of Tibet Autonomous Region, the forestry investment of the region increased from 14.95 million U.S. dollars in the Ninth Five-Year Plan period (1996-2000) to 1.495 billion dollars in the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015). In particular, since the implementation of the 12th Five-Year Plan, Tibet’s forestry has taken improving the ecology and people’s living standars as the general task and accelerated the development of modern forestry.

So far, the central government has earmarked a total forest ecological benefit compensation fund of 996.68 million dollarsfor more than 10 million hectares of national-level ecological commonweal forest in Tibet.

With the implementation of a series of policies on the project, the ecological awareness of farmers and herdsmen has been enhanced and their enthusiasm in participating in ecological protection and afforestation has risen to unprecedented height. Number of cases involving damage to forest resources such as indiscriminate felling of trees has been remarkably decreased, and the comprehensive benefits of forestry and incomes of farmers and herdsmen have also been increased notably.

As one of the regions with the richest and most typical biodiversity in China and even the world, Tibet is home to over 6,600 kinds of higher plants, including 38 kinds of key rare plants under national protection and 214 kinds of rare and endangered wild plants. In addition, there are 795 kinds of wild vertebrates in Tibet, with the number of large and medium-sized wild animal populations at the forefront in the country.

There were only 300 Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, first-class national protected animals, in the Hongla Mountain Nature Reserve in Mangkam County of Qamdo City. However, the number has been doubled and redoubled. The number of Tibetan antelopes in Northern Tibet Changtang Grassland has risen from 40,000 to some 200,000 now. Such rare wild animals as Tibetan eared pheasants, kiangs and wild yaks also begin to emerge.

According to Tibet's second wetland resources survey results, Tibet’s wetlands total 6.529 million hectares now, with complete types and largest number in the country. During the 50 years, Tibet has established a natural resources protection and management system from scratch, 61 nature reserves of the forestry system, two international important wetlands, ten national wetland parks and nine national forest parks, totaling more than 410,000 square km. This makes one third of the region’s land area become prohibited development zones.

People of various ethnic groups in Tibet are protecting the clear water and blue sky on the plateau and forming an ecological security barrier for the Tibetan Plateau.