Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - December 04, 2024 The China Pavilion at the ongoing 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) held its first side event to introduce to the world its experience in desertification control. COP16, held from Dec 2 to 13 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the theme "Our Land. Our Future," is the largest UN land-focused conference to date and the first UNCCD COP in the Middle East and North Africa. Liu Jun, Vice Chairman of the government of China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, said at the side event that Ningxia has demonstrated and promoted a number of new technologies for desertification control with low management costs, such as the use of brush nets, blue algae sand crusts, and high-efficiency seedlings. At the same time, Ningxia has actively served the "Belt and Road" construction, signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Secretariat of the UNCCD, and successfully held five international training courses on desertification control technology and practice. Valerie Hickey, Global Director for Environment at the World Bank, said that China is at the forefront of the world in creating prosperity on desertified and degraded land, and the World Bank will work with China to promote these experiences to other parts of the world. Johns Muleso Kharika, chief of Science, Technology and Innovation Unit of the Secretariat of the UNCCD, said that an international knowledge management center for desertification control jointly built by the Secretariat and the Ningxia regional government has become a valuable platform for sharing practices, promoting research and cultivating capacity building. This is a true model of South-South cooperation. Wu Zhimin, head of the forestry division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, said that China's construction of "Green Great Wall" has come up with a variety of technical models that can be shared with countries facing similar problems and challenges. Shotlist: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Dec 4, 2024: 1. Various of side event held by China Pavilion; guests speaking; attendees; screen showing video footage; 2. Various of exhibition in progress; attendees; 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Valerie Hickey, Global Director for Environment, World Bank (ending with shot 4): "Our mission at the world bank is to end poverty on a livable planet, and the Ningxia model has breathed life into that mission. It shows us the roadmap to ending poverty and building prosperity by creating a livable habitat, a better land, restore its landscapes. That's why other countries are watching. We want to learn from Ningxia."; 4. Poster at exhibition; FILE: Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwest China - Date Unknown 5. Various of brush nets in desert; 6. Various of blue algae sand crusts being cultivated. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]