The Kubuqi Desert is turning into an oasis. [Photo by Tanja Herko]

Dig the green gold

“When we first started our ecology business in the Kubuqi Desert in 1988, no one believed that we could make a profit and protect the environment at the same time. Thirty years on, we have proved that such a mission is possible,” said Hao Liangshe, director of the poverty alleviation office of Elion, a private ecology and investment enterprise.

According to Hao, his company has invested over 30 billion RMB ($5.82 billion) in the Kubuqi Desert-greening project since 1988, helping to lift about 102,000 local farmers and herdsmen like Otgonhuar out of poverty.

In addition to tree planting, the company has also encouraged local residents to plant drought-tolerant herbs such as Chinese licorice and cistanche, both profitable herbs widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. The plants help enrich the desert soil, with the bacteria around their roots generating nitrogen, which forms a biological crust above the sand that begins the fertilization process of the desert soil.

To ensure seedlings can survive the harsh environment, as well as promote sustainable ecological restoration, the company has invented and applied more than 100 environmental technologies.

Desertification has been dealt with successfully in Ordos. [Photo by Tanja Herko]

The vast desert has also provided a space to set up solar panels, which can feed electricity into the national power grid. Desert tourism, along with the sales of herbs, have become a reliable source of income for both the residents and local enterprises, laying a solid foundation for economic and environmental sustainability.

“Desertification control has provided our company with new opportunities. Governments and companies from countries like Mongolia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are reaching out to us, hoping to use our technologies and experience to manage their deserts. We’ve found the green gold in the desert,” said Hao.