Kubuqi Model: A Global Oasis

On August 1， 2013， Kubuqi International Desert Forum kicked off on the shores of Qixing Lake in the Kubuqi Desert of northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. During the three-day forum， government and political leaders， scientists， and entrepreneurs from China， the U.S.， India， Israel and over 20 other countries， again kept close eyes on Elion Resources Group， a Chinese company focused on energy resources， the chemical and pharmaceutical industry and eco-tourism.

With 25 years of experience battling desertification， Elion Resources has developed a comprehensive industrial chain to maximum the value of desert through desert resource exploration and launching sustainable public desert projects. Known as the “Kubuqi Model，”Elion Resources’ innovative anti-desertification solutions have provided a successful and practical model to fight desertification globally.

25 Years of Effort

In southwestern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， Kubuqi’s area of 18，600 square kilometers makes it China’s seventh largest desert. A land of fertility with abundant water and grassland millennia ago， Kubuqi is now the major and nearest source of sandstorms that ravage Beijing and its neighboring cities every year. Due to gradual land deterioration， some guess that as much as tons of sand from Kubuqi can be carried to Beijing in a single night by the wind.

In most of Kubuqi， it’s hard to find any signs of life other than green belts on either side of the highway loaded with deserttaming plants such as Elaeagnus angustifolia and its refreshing green color.

Kubuqi’s first trans-desert highway was built 25 years by a local salt enterprise to transport products out of the area. Construction took three years because every time a piece of road was paved， it became blanketed in sand by the next morning until builders began combating the desert by planting foliage and using frames to hold back the sand.

The trans-desert highway brought the salt company profitable times and more business opportunities， so the company’s leaders were inspired to invest in antidesertification efforts to curtail the desert’s harmful effect on their business and local residents’ lives. Launched in 1998， Kubuqi’s anti-desertification program has become a large network maintained district-by-district according to a grid formed by crisscrossing highways. Along either side of the highways， the land is supplied with electricity and water to grow trees， grass and herbs. Moreover， a 242-kilometer-long ecological greenbelt was built through artificial planting and large-scale aerial seeding to protect the desert’s central oasis which is now attracting considerable wildlife， returning after years of absence –particularly foxes and wolves.

Injecting Life

Unlike most entreprenuers who consider funding desert-control akin to playing with money， Wang Wenbiao， chairman of Elion Resources， believes that when you inject life into desert， the desert in turn generates even more life on its own.

“In the beginning， we were trying to control the desert for the sake of saving the factory，” Wang reveals. “However， the more progress we made， the more we realized that the desert， a natural landscape itself， is also a rich resource that can be explored and utilized.”

Specifically， Elion Resources’ annual sales revenue of pharmaceuticals has surpassed 10 billion yuan largely thanks to medicinal products produced from licorice grown in a 67，000-square-meter nursery exclusively for Chinese herbs along a highway. In addition， by taking advantage of the desert’s ample supplies of both solar power and biomass， Elion Resources initiated various projects alongside other clean energy enterprises.

With a sustainable and sufficient flow of funds from various desert-based industries， Elion Resources not only gained the ability to further its anti-desertification efforts， but also attracted many local residents to join the endeavors， which in turn transformed governmental efforts into a market-driven and mutually-beneficial social activity. Every year， during the slow seasons for farming and tourism， around 70，000 local residents are recruited by Elion to plant trees and help with desert maintenance work.

Kubuqi Model： Global Trendsetter

With over 38 million square kilometers of desertified land across the globe， desertification has become a significant global ecological and environmental problem affecting more than one billion people in 110 countries. China has never been alone in the battle against desertification.

The only forum of its kind dedicated to global anti-desertification efforts， Kubuqi International Desert Forum has now become a platform for China to share its experience in desert control as well as explore business opportunities with foreign counterparts. The Kubuqi Model， an innovative practice and successful example created by Elion Resources Group over its more than 25 years of experience in the Kubuqi Desert， is always a hot topic for participating delegates from around the world.

“Supported by governmental policy and enterprises’ investments of funds and technology， anti-desertification practices in the Kubuqi Desert have led to some major successes in recent years，” remarked UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. “By utilizing local farmers and herdsmen’s capabilities and enthusiasm to provide a common and sustainable environment for desert control in the Kubuqi Desert， the Kubuqi Model has enlightened the world about anti-desertification and made dreams come true for some.”

Wang Wenbiao， chairman of Elion Resources， sat down with China Pictorial to share more of his experience in combating desertification.

CP ： For an enterprise， investing in anti-desertification projects doesn’t sound ideal in terms of profits. What motivated you to dedicate your company to desertbased industries？

Wang ： I maintain deep affection for my hometown， which is in the desert， and I feel a strong sense of responsibility to conquer the desert. We spent money on the desert because I see its considerable potential， which is true in every country. Although many still consider such endeavors wishful thinking， our efforts have proven it is possible to utilize the resources of deserts and make money from them.

CP ： Anti-desertification is not only an environmental or economic issue – it is symbolic of the future of the world and its people. As a leader in the battle against desertification， what has Elion Resources been doing to share and promote its ideas about desert development and environmental protection both domestically and globally？

Wang ： As of now， the Kubuqi International Desert Forum is the most effective platform to share and promote our ideas with the domestic public as well as international society. We highly recommend every country examine the Kubuqi Model， a successful anti-desertification practice driven by common goals and business， to inspire their own unique methods. Over the past couple of years， the Kubuqi International Desert Forum has played a very important role in terms of drawing increasing governmental attention to the harm that desertification brings to human beings as well as the possibilities of various anti-desertification projects. Moreover， we are recognized by UNEP， which has partnered with us to encourage greater efforts in environmental protection and sustainable development.

CP ： In terms of anti-desertification， what do you expect from the government and society at large？

Wang ： First of all， policy. The current land policy of 30-year ownership is too short for desert-based industries， which usually involve large-scale investments and long-term construction. New policy for land， capital and taxes should be introduced by the government to extend land ownership to 70 or 100 years and encourage more individual capital to flow into this market.

Secondly， we need support in terms of desert technology. A field that has largely been ignored in many countries around the world， research and development of desert technology usually fails to meet the desert’s rapidly-changing economic development trends. We hope that desert ecological technology research and development will become a national project and gain greater governmental support， and we hope that greater numbers of enterprises and society as a whole will place more focus on desert ecological technology innovation， which will further its development.

Thirdly， we seek help in promoting desert-based industries. Although we have already found a balance between desert ecological development and desert ecological economics， there is still plenty of room for improvement， such as helping some key industries become capable of injecting life back into the desert on their own. We hope that the government will launch pilot projects featuring comprehensive and favorable policies for successful anti-desertification industries. The experience gained from pilot projects will be helpful for the government to make future decisions and policies for desertified regions across the country.