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A prolonged drought in northeast China's Jilin Province is affecting the State-protected red-crowned cranes living in its vast wetlands.

The four-year long drought has dried up most of the waterways that nurture the Xianghai and Momoge national reserves and the Chagan, Yueliang and Poluo lakes, which are home to thousands of rare birds and plants.

The national nature reserves are internationally recognized areas of importance due to their freshwater sources, which are breeding grounds for red-crowned cranes.

Xianghai was the biggest in the country in terms of acreage.

But the former 100,000-plus-hectare reserve has been shrinking due to the consistent dry conditions and over-grazing by farmers.

The Jilin government plans to invest more than 3 billion yuan (US$363 million) to improve the ecological system in the area, according to a senior official from the province's agricultural department.

The provincial water resources bureau has invested 17 million yuan (US$2 million) in irrigation works to channel surplus water to the Momoge reserve, according to Xinhua news agency.

Over 10 million cubic meters of water has so far been diverted to the reserve, which accounts for 30 percent of the province's wetlands. Another 5 million cubic meters of water is expected to be pumped to the location by the end of the year.

There are also another two projects planned by the province, which are designed to draw water from the Tao'er and Huolin rivers and into the Xianghai reserve, and to send water from the Songhua and Nenjiang rivers to another three reserves.

Today, only an estimated 1,900 red-crowned cranes exist in China. They are widely revered in northeastern Asia as a symbol of fidelity in marriage, of good luck, of a long life and of love.

They spend their winter in the demilitarized zone between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea, and along the coast of China, north of the Yangtze River.

The total population has fluctuated over the last century, probably reaching its lowest point in the years following World War II. Although the species has recovered in some areas, a substantial amount of habitat has been lost to agricultural development and other human activities.

To protect species close to extinction, China has established 15 national nature reserves. They cover a total of 88.13 million hectares.

(China Daily June 9, 2003)