China Desert Control: Government encourages locals to plant trees in Kubuqi

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03:25

Desertification is a worldwide problem that threatens human habitats. China is home to some of the world's most vast desert regions. But in the Kubuqi Desert, the nation's seventh largest, decades of efforts have turned its once barren land into a plush, green environment as well as a workable business model. Our reporter Hu Chao was there to find out how the area's people turned things around.

42-year-old Ao Te Geng Hua used to hate living in the Kubuqi Desert, located in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. In the past, sandstorms frequently swept across her house, leaving the doorway blocked by sand dunes.

AO TE GENG HUA, FORMER NOMAD HANGJIN COUNTY, ERDOS, INNER MONGOLIA AUTONOMOUS REGION "I was very dissatisfied with my hometown ever since childhood. In fact I hated it. I wondered 'why was I born in this desert without any roads?' I even couldn't sell my mutton."

But now she loves her hometown. After decades of fighting the sand, the Kubuqi Desert is the greenest it's been in generations. And it has catapulted her into a whole new livelihood.

AO TE GENG HUA, FORMER NOMAD HANGJIN COUNTY, INNER MONGOLIA AUTONOMOUS REGION "Life was very hard. For work, we relied on grazing livestock and farming. My family could only make 10,000 yuan a year."

The first sign of change occurred a decade ago, right before she took on a simple job of planting trees.

AO TE GENG HUA, FORMER NOMAD HANGJIN COUNTY, INNER MONGOLIA AUTONOMOUS REGION "At first I thought planting trees in the desert was impossible. I laughed out loud when I heard the idea and I said it was mission impossible."

Ao Te Geng Hua never expected that with advanced technology, the survival rate of desert-planted trees is as high as 95%. The job brought her much more money, especially with the government subsidizing tree planting. Soon she expanded the planting area and hired some workers. Now she makes about 200,000 yuan a year, twenty times her family's past income.

HU CHAO HANGJIN COUNTY, INNER MONGOLIA AUTONOMOUS REGION "Since the 1990s, local government has encouraged individuals and companies to develop ecological industries. Their favorable policies have prompted many to invest in green businesses. This method has greatly relieved the pressure of investment from the government, but also helped to create an active market for green business."

With government support, local companies have developed various green industries by making use of the desert, helping many locals rise above poverty.

LIU JINWANG, CHIEF OF FOREST BUREAU DALATE COUNTY, INNER MONGOLIA AUTONOMOUS REGION "China has invested more in desert control, such as tree-planting projects. Local party committees and governments have persuaded local companies and residents to join the fight and ensure China's policies and investments be well implemented."

Ao Te Geng Hua now lives in a completely renovated house, with no sand dunes blocking her door anymore, but roads that lead into the city.

AO TE GENG HUA, FORMER NOMAD HANGJIN COUNTY, ERDOS, INNER MONGOLIA AUTONOMOUS REGION "Greening the desert has become my career. I'll never give it up at least not as long as I'm working."

Hu Chao, CGTN, Erdos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.