XINING - The government will spend 1 billion yuan (about $161.5 million) in 2013 to protect Sanjiangyuan, a region that serves as the source of China's three biggest rivers.

The money will be spent on afforestation, wetland protection and the recovery of degraded grassland, said Li Xiaonan, vice-director of the Qinghai Sanjiangyuan Office.

2013 will mark the final year of a nine-year project intended to improve environmental protection in Sanjiangyuan, which is the source of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers.

The Lancang River, also known as the Mekong River in other countries, originates from China and flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The region's ecology has significantly deteriorated in recent years due to global warming and excessive herding, leading the government to initiate a 7.5-billion-yuan environmental protection project in 2005.