Southwest China's plateau region of Tibet will spend 490 million yuan (75 million U.S. dollars) over the next five years on the repair and protection of sky burial sites, a traditional Tibetan funeral practice, local authorities said Wednesday.

Sky burial is a Tibetan and Mongolian tradition, whereby the dead are fed to predatory birds, in place of cremation, so that their souls may ascend to heaven.

In total 156 sky burial sites will receive funding. The regional government will invest 165 million yuan this year on 47 sky burial sites, mostly close to a lamasery. Each site will be assigned 3 to 5 million yuan to finance repair and protection work, according to the regional civil affairs department.

Wild dogs, burial waste, bumpy roads and a lack of facilities for mourners are affecting the practice, said Xu Jiali, deputy head of the regional civil affairs department who has visited 60 sky burial sites during the preliminary investigation.

The funding will cover the construction of roads, fences, reception rooms, mortuaries and furnaces to burn waste, said Xu. Endi