Chinese automaker GAC Motor is stepping up its efforts to preserve China's most important freshwater source, which contains the headwaters of the Yangtze, Lancang and Yellow rivers.

Located in Northwest China's Qinghai province, the Sanjiangyuan, which translates as "headwaters of the three rivers", is also one of China's priority areas for biodiversity conservation and is home to large varieties of wildlife that provide a gene bank of rare plateau species.

According to the State Forestry Administration, the number of wildlife species in the area reduced by almost half between 1970 and 2010.

On May 22, GAC Motor kicked of an initiative of wetland preservation with the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve Administration and the World Wildlife Fund.

"The program is a response to the government call for environmental preservation and part of our corporate social responsibility strategy," said Yu Jun, president of GAC Motor.

The initiative was part of a three-year environmental protection project according to a memorandum of cooperation the three parties signed last year, making GAC Motor the first Chinese social enterprise to take part in the construction of a national park.

The three parties will also explore strategic cooperation in terms of ecological preservation, volunteering programs and public education. According to its administration, China's first national park will be in place at the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve by 2020.

"As a responsible company, GAC Motor has been playing a dynamic role in corporate social responsibility and is doing its bit to invigorate the nation's eco-civilization with its eco-manufacturing idea of 'Green Engine', in tandem with its rapid development," Yu said.

The initiative this year centered on the Yellow River headwaters, where GAC Motor employees and experts from the nature reserve and WWF monitored wild animals, promoted education on environmental protection and visited local communities.

On May 24, GAC Motor employees arrived in Madoi county, Qinghai and handed two of its flagship SUV GS8 models to the administrative committee in charge of the Yellow River headwaters for daily operations and routine patrols.

The company's GS8 SUV, released in October last year, has been proven to deliver optimal performance under harsh conditions. These include traveling on ice fields and rough terrain, making the model ideal for operations in the national reserve on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which has an average altitude of 4,000 meters, according to the carmaker.

The GS8 SUVs will join several GS5 Super SUVs that GAC Motor donated earlier to the committees in charge of the Yangtze and Lancang rivers' headwaters.

On May 25, the employees visited a primary school in the county, helping 110 pupils to understand the importance of protecting the Yellow River as well as local fauna and flora, boosting their awareness of environmental protection.

They also donated projectors, computers and books to the school. Yu said, "We are planning to organize car owners and dealers to take part in the preservation program and so contribute what we can."

GAC Motor is one of the fastest growing carmakers in China, posting an annual comprehensive growth rate of at least 85 percent for the past six consecutive years.

The automaker sold 163,000 cars in the first four months of the year, surging 65 percent year-on-year.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/02/2017 page17)