A green barrier is built among herdsmen to protect grassland ecosystem

(chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2014-09-22

Reconvert farmland into grassland for eco-protection

Grassland reform is changing the grassland profoundly and improving people's livelihood.

As early as the mid 1980s, Xilin Gol League has taken the lead nationwide in conducting the “pasture-livestock double contracting” reform and implementing the “dual-right one-system” mechanism for land and pasture, which has greatly stimulated the herdsmen and raised their income rank to first across the nation. In recent years, the pasturing area has given priority to protecting the grassland ecosystem and guiding the migration of herdsmen for the purpose of realizing sustainable development.

Walking on the local customs cultural street of West Ujimqin Banner, visitors can feel the distinctively simple but real folk customs here. All family handiworks of herdsmen have been commercialized here, including Mongolian clothing stores, milk food shops and handicraft stores.

It is noteworthy that most of these bosses are migrant herdsmen.

Herdsmen on horseback have created nostalgia for the grasslands. They’d rather live in poverty than breed more livestock to damage the grassland. When the government took measures to protect and recover the grassland ecosystem, these herdsmen offered full cooperation.

Change from “finding grassland in sand” to “finding sand in grassland”

Ecological development cannot be separated from protection and construction.

Xilin Gol League has a total of 180,000 square kilometers of natural grassland, which is a vital ecological safety shield in North China as well as the nearest natural grassland from Beijing. While such pasturing areas as West Ujimqin Banner and Zhenglan Banner implement the grassland protection policy, Duolun county, which is located in the south rim of Hunshandake Sandy Land, is changing the ecosystem and improving the environment by virtue of tree planting and forestation.