Mu Us Desert in Inner Mongolia sees amazing improvements in desertification control (5)

Seventy percent of the section of the Mu Us Desert in Ordos, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has been turned into green land thanks to local people’s efforts over the past 60 years.

Located in the hinterland of the desert, Uxin Banner covers an area of more than 1,600 square kilometers, of which 54 percent was shifting sand dunes and only 33.3 percent of grassland was available for grazing.

Local farmers and herdsmen began planting tall salix mongolica on one side of the dunes and Artemisia desertorum with well-developed roots on the windward side. In three or four years, the Artemisia desertorum gradually grew on the top of the dunes.

After years of efforts, Uxinzhao township in Uxin Banner has been covered by more green plants, which has boosted local people’s confidence in the sand control measures.

Baoriledai, now 83 years old, is a local pioneer in afforestation. “After seeing the saplings grow denser, everyone began to believe that the desert could be controlled,” she said, adding that local people can now improve their living environment through their own efforts.

In 1979, China started to implement the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, which consisted of forestation measures in northwest, north and northeast China.

Using special funds for ecological improvement and the introduction of advanced sand control technology, afforestation and grass planting through large-scale aerial seeding has been carried out in the desert. After more than 40 years of hard work, the vegetation coverage of the state forestry farm in Ulan Tolgoi township has increased from 27 percent when it was established to over 95 percent now.

The aim of sand control is to yield economic benefits, so that farmers and herdsmen plagued by shifting sand for generations can lead a happy and prosperous life.

Underpinned by China’s western development strategy and major forestry projects, grazing on certain areas of grassland was banned or temporarily suspended, and rotational paddock grazing was introduced in the desert from 2001 to 2010, leading to standardized management.

The desert is about to “disappear” from the map of China and is becoming a green land full of hope.

“In the past, I had about 6.7 hectares of pasture. Now I have planted salix mongolica and trees on more than 400 hectares of pasture,” said Ulandalai, a herdsman in Uxinzhao township, adding that he is a direct beneficiary of this ecological improvement.

Ulanshibatai village in Tuke township has built a plant to process salix mongolica granules, with over 3 million yuan in funds provided by organizations and local enterprises. The low-emission, eco-friendly and smoke-free products are highly sought after by several chemical companies in cities including Yinchuan, Ordos and Hohhot.

“The profit from this year’s output of more than 3,000 tons of salix mongolica granules could exceed 600,000 yuan,” said village official Gong Shuanming, adding that each farmer in the village is entitled to a subsidy of 30 yuan per 0.06 hectares each year.