STORY: China's desertification control practices successful, impressive: officials
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Dec. 11, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:10
LOCATION: Riyadh
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the COP16
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): OSAMA FAQEEHA, First Deputy Minister for Environment at Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): IBRAHIM THIAW, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): VALERIE HICKEY, Global Director for Environment at World Bank

STORYLINE:

China's efforts to combat desertification are successful and impressive, and other countries would learn and benefit more from China's experience, senior officials have said on the sidelines of the ongoing 16th session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Riyadh.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): OSAMA FAQEEHA, First Deputy Minister for Environment at Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture
"We have witnessed China has very large projects to combat desertification that are very successful, and we commend China for that. China can be a strategic partner, not only working in Saudi Arabia, but working with the whole member countries of the Middle East Green Initiative."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): IBRAHIM THIAW, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
"With China, I think we have a good example of what can be done in degraded lands. From an economic point of view, it is socially profitable. It creates millions of jobs, and it is also an area where we can apply new technologies, drones, computers, traditional knowledge, manual work. Everything is combined to make things happen."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): VALERIE HICKEY, Global Director for Environment at World Bank
"We heard about success. We heard about the future, we heard about what countries can do. In fact, this isn't a story of drought, and desertification, and land degradation. This is a story of restoration."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Riyadh.
(XHTV)