STORY: Experts share desertification control experience at Kubuqi Int'l Desert Forum
DATELINE: Aug. 28, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:01
LOCATION: HOHHOT, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the 9th Kubuqi International Desert Forum
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): KHALED ABDULLAH ALABDULKADER, CEO, National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification, Saudi Arabia
3. various of China's desertification control efforts
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): TIAN WANG, Engineer of sand control in Elion Resources Group
5. aerial view of vegetation
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): YANG JINYAO, Forest and grassland bureau, Hangjin Banner, Inner Mongolia
7. aerial view of vegetation

STORYLINE:

The 9th Kubuqi International Desert Forum closed Sunday in the city of Ordos in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Themed "Technology-empowered desert control for the benefit of mankind," this edition of the forum has attracted approximately 300 participants from home and abroad.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): KHALED ABDULLAH ALABDULKADER, CEO, National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification, Saudi Arabia
"We have seen big resources having been implemented in the ground here. We have seen also engagement of different science, and also we have seen solar (energy projects). We are collaborating with a lot of scientists from China in Saudi Arabia. And we see really big opportunities between the two countries to collaborate in this very important subject."

In the face of a severe desertification challenge, the Chinese government has consistently emphasized technology-driven green development over the past few decades.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): TIAN WANG, Engineer of sand control in Elion Resources Group
"More than 30 years ago, desertification control cost 1,500 yuan (about 205.8 U.S. dollars) per mu (about 0.067 hectares), and now the number is only 500 yuan (about 68.6 U.S. dollars), thanks to scientific and technological progress. Also, we have greatly improved efficiency as well as the survival rate. By the end of this year, we may produce robots on a large scale, which can improve efficiency when working in groups. The robots integrate a number of technologies and are powered by new energy."

Thanks to effective desertification control, the area affected by desertification has steadily decreased and the spread of desertification has been effectively reversed in the country.

This has also led to the development of animal husbandry, eco-tourism, renewable energy, and various other ecological industries.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): YANG JINYAO, Forest and grassland bureau, Hangjin Banner, Inner Mongolia
"The local residents can join the desertification control and make some profits as a return. And they are also the beneficiaries of afforestation. So they have benefited from the whole process of ecological governance."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Hohhot, China.
(XHTV)