Home / News
Beijing-based company has spent two decades battling desertification in the Kubuqi Desert
China Elion Resources Group - a leading Chinese expert in the development of desert economies, green living, clean energy and cultural tourism - said it wants to green 10,000 square kilometers of desert in the north and west part of the country by the next five years, a development from which farmers and herdsmen will benefit.
Elion has spent the past 27 years battling desertification in China's Kubuqi Desert, turning over 6,000 square kilometers of the desert into productive land for the cultivation of medicinal plants.
The goal is to plant 1.3 billion trees in this area over 10 years.
The green desert economy developer, headquartered in Beijing, rolled out its plan which follows on from its previous success in transforming deserts.
"Land desertification is the main cause of poverty in western China and countries along the former Silk Road," said Elion chairman Wang Wenbiao.
"Elion plans to partner with other companies and research institutes to work on 10,000 square kilometers of deserts in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, and to lift more people out of poverty," Wang added.
Wang started his career in Kubuqi desert in 1988. As China's seventh-largest desert, the area had suffered from fragile environment and weak industry base before Elion invested over 3 billion yuan ($449.88 million) in sand control.
Science and technology, Wang said, was critical to transforming deserts and alleviating poverty. The company has invented over 200 technologies, and created methods including aerial seeding and the creation of forest plantations.
Nearly 100,000 local people have emerged from poverty with its help, the company said.
One of the beneficiaries is 70-year-old Chen Ningbu. Decades ago, when desert encircled his village, Chen's family lived in appalling conditions: encroaching sand dunes grew higher than his house, children were prevented from going to school until much later ages and some critically-ill patients died because of delayed treatment.
In 2013, his family of seven rented out their sandy land to Elion for nearly 600,000 yuan, after which things have been getting better.
"Elion helped me a lot," Chen said.
"As long as you are willing to roll out the sleeves to plant trees, you can make, at minimum, 150 yuan a day. " Chen said he also made a profit through planting liquorice and raising sheep.
Elion said to further address desertification and its associated poverty there needs national financial and policy support.
Wang said he hoped the government would set up funds to encourage more private enterprises to engage in this kind of work, and State-owned banks like the Agricultural Development Bank of China and the China Development Bank could give favorable policy-based lending to them.
In addition, Wang called on the government to adjust its land policy, which prescribes that the term of a contract for arable land is 30 years, while for grassland, 30 to 50 years.
"If the terms could be extended to 70 years, companies, farmers and herdsmen would have enough time to restore the land and develop agriculture and pasturage," Wang said.
To date, Elion's operations have mainly covered the Kubuqi desert and Tengger desert in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region - and the Taklimakan desert in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Contact the writers at yuanhui@chinadaily.com.cn and jingshuiyu@chinadaily.com.cn
|
A man from a low-income family holds on a sheep given by China Elion Resources Group, as part of a program to help these villagers out of poverty, in Yongxing, a village in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in 2016 (left). Local residents in Kubuqi desert used a camel as their way of commuting before the desert was transformed about 30 years ago (right). Provided To China Daily |
