The Dalai Lake Nature Reserve in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region became China's 22nd nature reserve to be listed on the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) and to join the World Biosphere Network at the end of 2002, said sources with the local environmental protection department.

The nature reserve, located in the east of the region, is the third in Inner Mongolia to be listed on the World Biosphere Network, and the only one in China listed in 2002.

With scenic landscape and a well-protected environment, the 2,315-square-kilometer Dalai Lake, one of the China's largest freshwater lakes, is home to diversified plant and animal life.

The MAB program was begun by UNESCO in 1971 for international cooperation in improving relations between people and the environment.

The other two Inner Mongolian nature reserves listed on the MAB are the Xilin Gol Grassland Nature Reserve and the Saihan Ula Nature Reserve.

(People's Daily February 26, 2003)