Opportunities in Desert: China's Kubuqi combines environment with development

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Desert control is a common challenge for the international community and China's Kubuqi desert is offering its own solution, by creating a triple win for government, residents and enterprises. This comes as the 7th Kubuqi international desert forum wrapped up on Sunday. CGTN reporter Wang Mengzhen has the details.

People say where there is green in Kubuqi, there are licorice trees. While acting as a pioneer plant to fix sand here, surprisingly, it also has another name—the king of traditional Chinese medicine.

WANG MENGZHEN KUBUQI DESERT "The secret lies in its root, which has been widely used in many TCM treatments, such as easing sore throat and stomachache."

Yan Hekuan is among the more than 6000 local herdsmen being involved in growing such valuable plants.

YAN HEKUAN, LICORICE PLANTING WORKER KUBUQI DESERT "Every time, we sign a three-party deal with the company and the government for a 3 to 5 year term. They provide us with land and facilities, while we're responsible to maintain the field. In the harvest time, we make about 8 yuan for each kilograms of licorice."

By bringing a large number of locals into the land restoration project, the so-called Kubuqi model combines desert control with its development goals. And that's also where businesses like ELION can step in to pull residents out of poverty.

SEREN WANGJILA, MANAGER LICORICE PLANTING PROJECT, ELION "We started leading locals to grow licorice in the 1990s. Soon we developed the new horizontal planting technology. This largely expand green areas and increase yields. Meanwhile, our company can gain profits worth of 100 million yuan or nearly 15 million US dollars per year, from licorice-related products such as medicine and cosmetics."

Finished products and planting techniques have been on display during the 7th Kubuqi international desert forum. But this is not just about marketing, but passing on Kubuqi's wisdom to the rest of the world.

ERIK SOLHEIM FORMER UNDER SECRETARY GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS "I think the spirit and main principle of Kubuqi can be applied to every dry area in the world."

After 30 years' efforts, the vegetation coverage now takes up more than half of the KUBUQI desert. But locals say that desert control is a career that will pass on from generation to generation. WMZ, CGTN, Kubuqi Desert, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.