The Hulunbuir grassland in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, boasts glorious summer scenery and comfortable average temperatures. [Photo by Jiang Xiwu/for chinadaily.com.cn] 

Major efforts made by North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region to protect and restore its grassland environment have achieved significant results, according to a report from Xinhua News Agency.

Officials said that grassland monitoring data showed that Inner Mongolia has seen the average vegetation coverage of its pastures rise to 44 percent in 2020 from 37 percent in 2010, a 7 percentage point increase.

Officials said it signified that the trend in grassland degradation had effectively been curbed, while the grasslands’ self-renewal and ability to repair itself had improved, with biodiversity becoming increasingly abundant.

Inner Mongolia has about 76 million hectares of grasslands, accounting for one-fifth of the country's total, said Dong Shuhua, an official at the autonomous region's forestry and grassland administration.

Verdant and tranquil panoramas greet visitors to the Hulunbuir grassland [Photo by Jiang Xiwu/for chinadaily.com.cn] 

The environment of Inner Mongolia's grasslands has improved thanks to a number of ecological projects and measures, including controlled grazing and returning farmland back to grasslands and forests.

The autonomous region has also improved its legal system for grassland protection. Prosecutions and convictions in grassland damage and destruction cases have now reached over 98 percent of all investigations, effectively combating violations of the environment, officials said.

Meanwhile, grassland disaster prevention and the management and control capabilities of the autonomous region’s authorities have also improved markedly.

At the same time, rodents and insect pests have gone from previous large-scale concentrations and contiguous high-density outbreaks to scattered and mid-to-low-density outbreaks currently.

Sheep and horses graze on beautiful grassland [Photo by Jiang Xiwu/for chinadaily.com.cn]