Liu Yandong, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese State Councilor, addresses at the opening ceremony of the 2011 Kubuqi Int'l Desert Forum, July 9, 2011.

The 2011 Kubuqi International Desert Forum, the third of its kind, kicks off Saturday in the Kubuqi Desert, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, sent a congratulatory letter to the forum.

Liu Yandong, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese State Councilor, addressed at the opening ceremony.

Both former Irish Premier John Bruton and former South Korean Premier Soo Sung Lee made keynote speeches at the ceremony, speaking highly of the anti-desertification effort made by the government and Elion Resources Group Ltd.

With the theme of "Desert Technology New Economy," the two-day forum will introduce and showcase advanced technology achievements of the international anti-desertification efforts, desert renewable energy and deserticulture development.

More than 300 delegates across the world attended the forum, including government and political leaders, representatives from the United Nation, experts and scholars.

Those participants will share ideas concerning innovations in anti-desertification-related technology, emerging industries, social responsibility, climate change, desert tourism and financial investment in six sub-forums.

The forum is organized by Ordos Municipal People's Government and Elion Resources Group Ltd.

China held the first and second international desert forum in 2007 and 2009 respectively, which had reflected China's responsible image of great power and presented to the world tremendous achievements made in ecological construction and sand industry development in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Up to date, the forum has become the only international desert forum with relatively extended influence in the world.

Desertification is defined as the rapid depletion of plant life and loss of topsoil at desert boundaries and in semi-arid regions, usually caused by a combination of drought and overexploitation of grasses and other vegetation by people.

According to experts, desertified areas around the globe expand by about 50,000 to 70,000 sq km every year. Desertified areas now total 38mn sq km, or one-fourth of the Earth's total land area.