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Xiliin Gol strengthens grassland ecological protection

2020-06-04 (chinadaily.com.cn)

Xiliin Gol League in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region recently announced that it had boosted the protection of the environment and ecology of its grasslands – placing more than 60 percent of them within the ecological protection red line, according to local officials.

As a result, no new mines, wind and solar power plants will be developed in the core grassland areas, according to information from the administration office of Xiliin Gol League.

Officials said it is another move to contain grassland mining and digging and help the restoration of the ecological balance of the grasslands.

Xiliin Gol League is located in the middle of Inner Mongolia and covers an area of 203,000 square kilometers. Of this, the grasslands occupy 179,600 sq km, accounting for 89.85 percent of the league’s total area.

Officials said the league relies on its natural resources to drive regional economic development, but also balances that with the ability of the environment to absorb such development.

In order to prevent the grasslands from being overloaded and overgrazed, Xiliin Gol has implemented a grassland ecological protection subsidy incentive policy.

It has designated 50 million mu (3.33 million hectares) out of 270 million mu of usable grasslands in the league as forbidden grazing areas. The remaining 220 million mu of grasslands are all managed according to grass and livestock balance methods.

The current annual livestock inventory of the whole league has been reduced to 12.98 million head, 2.5 million head less than that in 2015. Officials said the animal carrying capacity of the land is controlled within a reasonable range.

In its animal husbandry production, herders now mainly adopt the "natural stocking + house feeding supplement" method, which aims to reduce the impact on the grasslands by the greatest extent.

Meanwhile, from 2018 onwards, Xiliin Gol promoted the resumption of spring grazing and foraging, which allows 220 million mu of grasslands under balanced management to recuperate.