Otog Front Banner in Ordos city, North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was granted the honorable title of “National Ecological Civilization Construction Model City and County” by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on Oct 9.

The banner won the honor due to its efforts in exploring a development path combining local ecological protection and construction with poverty alleviation.

The forestry and grass department of Otog Front Banner has handed over the task of national ecological construction to cooperative groups. After the cooperatives start the project, they may implement it on their own or introduce enterprises to help with afforestation.

During the implementation of the project, priority is being given to hiring poverty-stricken migrant workers as foresters.

The hired workers can obtain income from planting trees, forest management and protection, and economic forest profit distribution.

The new ecological construction model not only provides work opportunities for local residents, but also plays an essential role in regional afforestation.

Currently, there are 30 professional afforestation cooperatives in the banner, covering four towns and 30 villages, with 638 people involved in afforestation tasks.

Since 2018, afforestation cooperatives in the banner have implemented a total of 184,300 mu (12,286.67 hectares) of projects for the treatment of the source of sandstorms in Beijing and Tianjin, and the restoration of degraded forests in the Three-North Shelter Forest Program - which was launched in the 1970s with the aim of improving environmental conditions by creating shelter forests in northern, northwestern and northeastern China.

The total investment of the project is 54.6 million yuan ($7.91 million), and the implementation of the projects has helped increase the annual income per capita by 2,500 yuan.