URUMQI, May 26 (Xinhua) -- China's water conservation experts said Thursday that water saving is the key to protecting the ecology of the drying up Tarim River, the longest inland river in China, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The 1,321 kilometer long Tarim River runs from west to east along the northern verge of the Taklimakan Desert, the biggest moving desert in the country, and used to flow into the Taitema Lake in Xinjiang.
A 320 kilometer section of the lower reaches of the Tarim River dried up in 1972 following the construction of the Daxihaizi Reservoir at the middle reaches of the river.
Due to a sharp increase in water use on the upper and middle reaches of the river, the river has become shorter and shorter. Research shows that the areas surrounding the lower reaches of the river have become the largest desert area in Xinjiang and the desert area is expanding more rapidly than in other areas of Xinjiang.
Experts say the major reason for the water shortage is the increase in population and the waste of water in agricultural irrigation along the river.
During the past five years, over 60 million yuan (about 7 million U.S. dollars) was invested in water conservation projects along the river. Some water saving technologies, such as drop irrigation, have been spread in the valley of the river.
However, the water saving potential has not been fully tapped due to insufficient investment, said experts.
China aims to increase the annual water flow volume in the river from the current 3.62 billion cubic meters to 4.65 billion cubic meters. A total of 5.5 billion yuan will be used to build water conservation projects along the river, according to a protection plan for the river ratified by the State Council, China 's cabinet, sources from the water resources department of Xinjiang said.
![[Documents menu]](../bin/bk.gif)