Firm a model for desertification control

Driven by technological innovation, China's desertification control practices have become replicable and could significantly contribute to global ecological governance, said Wang Zhaoming, a deputy to the National People's Congress.

Desertification is a major ecological challenge impacting human survival and development. China — among the countries severely affected by desertification — launched the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program in 1978 to combat the issue. The appropriate combination of germplasm resources, including seeds of trees, shrubs and grasses, plays a crucial role in the ecological restoration process.

"Grass seeds are the 'chips' of ecological restoration," said Wang, who is also the founder of Inner Mongolia M-Grass Ecology and Environment Group.

Born into a herding family in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Wang attended Inner Mongolia Agricultural University after passing the national college entrance exam. He began his career selling flowers and running a flower shop before establishing a landscaping company. While working on urban greening projects, Wang noticed that exotic plants often failed to thrive in northern climates due to their lack of cold and drought resistance.

Inspired by the resilient wildflowers and grasses of his hometown, Wang shifted his focus to cultivating native plant species.

"As the only listed company in China specializing in grass seed technology, M-Grass has dedicated itself to cultivating native plant species and applying them in suitable locations over the past three decades," he said.

M-Grass has cultivated 295 native plant species and holds 105 proprietary varieties, including highly resilient, drought-tolerant and cold-resistant eco-lawn grasses and high-quality forage grasses. These provide a solid germ plasm foundation for restoring 2.2 million hectares of arid and semiarid land.

The company is also exploring desertification control technologies, including intelligent machinery. Advancements in equipment have improved the efficiency of traditional manual sand control by 60 percent, making it a key tool in managing the sandy lands of Inner Mongolia, Wang said.

"By deeply engaging in domestic desertification control, we have integrated our seed resources, relevant technologies and desertification control solutions into a comprehensive product package, hoping to provide solutions for global desertification prevention and control," he said.

In December last year, M-Grass signed an ecological restoration cooperation memorandum with Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia, marking the globalization of China's ecological restoration model. The collaboration focuses on desertification control around Ulaanbaatar, river ecological restoration and native plant cultivation, supporting Mongolia's "One Billion Trees" campaign.

"By integrating technologies into a product package, we have transformed complex ecological issues into quantifiable and plausible solutions, shifting desertification control from 'high investment, long cycles' to 'high efficiency, high sustainability,'" Wang said.

"Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, we believe that by relying on our experience in desertification prevention and control in sandy lands in Inner Mongolia, M-Grass can promote drought-resistant, cold-resistant and wind-resistant grass species, mechanical sand-fixing systems and customized restoration solutions along the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor," he said.

"The wisdom of 'small grass' can help more regions achieve a deep integration of ecological conservation and economic development, demonstrating the applicability of the 'Chinese solution.'"