The products from sandy areas in China are welcomed in the China Pavilion in Riyadh. [Photo by Yan Dongjie/chinadaily.com.cn]
Chinese goji berries from Ningxia Hui autonomous region, raisins and walnuts from Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and other economic crops grown on desertified land have been highly welcomed by people from around the world at the China desertification control achievement exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
"I have never seen a berry that can produce so many different types of food, and they all taste great. The staff on site told me that they are all grown in the desert, not only preventing wind erosion but also bringing considerable income to the local people," said Cesar Luis Garcia, an environmental technology expert from Argentina, while visiting the China Pavilion at the 16th Session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which opened in Riyadh on Monday and will continue until Dec 13.
Liu Jun, vice-chairman of the government of Ningxia, said that there are over 150 types of goji berry products, including dried berries, fruit paste, and juice, alone in Ningxia.
"We have planted goji berries on our deserts and barren lands, as well as wine grapes grown at the same latitude as Bordeaux, France. The cultivation of these grasses has transformed the ecology and developed industries," she said.
Liu Jun, vice-chairman of the government of Ningxia Hui autonomous region, says that industries such as goji berry and grape planting have benefited the economy in Ningxia, as well as the sand control of the region. [Photo by Yan Dongjie/chinadaily.com.cn]
Liu said that photovoltaic desert control, which involves laying photovoltaic panels for electricity generation and planting or breeding underneath them, is becoming an increasingly common industrial model in desertification control areas, too.
Over the past 30 years of implementing the UN convention to combat desertification, China has embarked on a unique path of desertification control characterized by balancing ecological construction with economic development, achieving a win-win situation in combating desertification and alleviating poverty, said Guan Zhi'ou, head of the Chinese delegation to COP16 and director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
Since the initiation of the Three-North Shelterbelt Program in 1978, 13 provinces and regions in northern China, while planting trees and promoting the ecology, have been utilizing the unique resources of sandy areas to moderately develop industries such as traditional Chinese medicinal materials, high-quality forage grass, economic tree and fruit crops, and desert tourism.
Experts from China and abroad discuss China's achievements on sand control in the past decades in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday. [Photo by Yan Dongjie/chinadaily.com.cn]
For example, production bases for forest fruits, melons and fruits, woody oil crops and so on, have been established in regions such as the Loess Plateau, the Yanshan Mountains, and Xinjiang. These regions collectively produce 48 million metric tons of fresh and dried fruits annually, accounting for 25 percent of the national total output. In key areas, income from forest fruits contributes to over half of farmers' net income, according to the administration.
"This approach has continuously contributed the Chinese model and solutions to global desertification control efforts," he said.
Hussein Nasrallah, from the Ministry of Agriculture in Lebanon, visited Ningxia in October last year to learn about sand control and economic development methods. He remains impressed by the goji farms and factories he visited.
"When land degradation is managed, the areas come to life, leading to the development of both people and ecology. This holds significant importance for sand control, not only benefiting the environment," he said.
"What I learned from my trip to China has also inspired many insights for land degradation control in our country. In the Chinese Pavilion, I have witnessed newer technologies and methods, and I look forward to having the opportunity to explore more areas in China for further learning," he said.
Valerie Hickey, global director of Environment Department of the World Bank, praises China's efforts in sand control. [Photo by Yan Dongjie/chinadaily.com.cn]
