Yin Yuzhen, a native of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region who
is renowned for combating sandstorms in the hinterlands of the
Maowusu Desert, once said she would rather work herself to death
fighting the sand than be tortured to death by it blowing in the
wind.
Data from the region's forestry department shows that since
1985, Yin has converted more than 4,000 hectares of desolate desert
into habitable green space.
In 1985 the then 20-year-old Yin married in Jingbeitang village,
of which her family members were the sole residents because of the
wild, desolate conditions.
Yin recalled the day when she saw the first outsider pass by her
house. It was more than 40 days after she married.
"I was so excited that I took a basin and covered up one of the
footprints he had left," she said. "I took a look at it every day
after that."
"When the wind blew, the yellow sand blanketed everything, and
my face ached after I washed it at night."
But Yin would not let the desert break her spirit.
She started to plant trees in 1985. One by one, she planted the
saplings, and after a year, most of them survived, despite the
harsh conditions.
With her family's support - as well as input from the government
and other people - she has grown enough trees to halt the dunes'
advance and shelter her village from the ferocious sandstorms.
In more recent years, Yin helped her village become a tourist
attraction. Many outsiders are awed by how she has helped lift
Jingbeitang out of poverty. It is now home to many orchards and
animal husbandry projects.
Others have followed Yin's example by setting up their own
eco-defense lines against the advancing desert in northern
China.
Li Shuping, vice-director of the region's forestry department,
said: "We have all kinds of social participation in forestry
development. The most important policy is that investors are the
beneficiaries of the projects. They own whatever they plant."
In Erdos city, investors have shown great interest in such
projects because of the tremendous economic benefits they
bring.
For example, one hectare of sand willow planted in the desert
can generate up to 8,400 yuan (US$1,100) every two years, according
to official figures.
"The joint efforts of the forestry department and society at
large have significantly decreased desertification and increased
incomes for farmers," Li said.
By the end of 2005, the region's forestry industry was worth 10
billion yuan, a 4.6 billion yuan increase from 2000. Farmers'
average per capita income from forestry projects had increased by
245 yuan.
Inner Mongolia has spent some 20 billion yuan on projects
designed to halt the desertification of 16.7 million hectares over
the past five years.
The amount of land covered by forest has increased to 17.6
percent of the region's total area from 14.8 percent in 1999,
according to the region's chairman Yangjing.
Since 2003, at least 3 billion yuan have been earmarked to
implement the "Beijing-Tianjin windblown sand sources control
project" in a bid to build a green ecological belt in northern
China, according to local sources.
The project involves 458,000 sq km of land, 48 percent of which
lies in Inner Mongolia.
Water and soil conservation forests have been set up in fragile
areas in 85 counties.
By 2010, the region wants to increase forest coverage to 20
percent, representing economic value of 18.3 billion yuan.
(China Daily August 1, 2007)
