XINING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Over 17,000 local herdsmen have joined the ecological conservation of the Sanjiangyuan National Park, or the Three-River-Source National Park, in China's Qinghai Province since 2016, offering an effective solution to guarding the scarcely populated region.

Sanjiangyuan, meaning "source for three rivers," is home to the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers and many rare wildlife species.

Over the past three years, 17,211 herdsmen from 72,000 households in the region, mostly impoverished households, have been employed to work as park keepers, with a monthly salary of 1,800 yuan (about 269 U.S. dollars).

All households in the region with less than five people have shaken off poverty thanks to the job opportunities.

According to local authorities, park keepers are required to patrol the protected area three times per month with duties that include monitoring the wildlife population, preventing grassland fires and reporting illegal acts that damage the ecological environment.

More herdsmen are encouraged to contribute to protecting the Sanjiangyuan National Park, and they are making a huge difference, said Li Xiaonan, head of the national park's administration bureau.