Chinese Rancher Makes 'green Incredible Divider' In Desert

Shi Guangyin, a farmer in the Debian region, Yulin city, northwest of China's Shaanxi province, recently received the July 1 Medal, a tribute to the Communist Party of China (CPC), for his outstanding contributions to desert management.

The inhabitants of Yulin had long been plagued by strong winds, sand, and barren land, largely because of the Maowusu Desert, the eighth largest desert in China, located between the town of Yulin and Ordos in the northern China region of Inner Mongolia. Desert accounts for 56.1 percent of Yulin city area.

In the 1950s, the locals in Yulin began to expand the desert through deforestation. To date, 93.24 percent of the city's desert land is managed, all 8.6 million mu (approximately 573,333 hectares) of fast-track land has been rehabilitated or rehabilitated, and large areas of exposed sand cannot be seen now, of which Shi has contributed most.

In early 1984, after China had issued policies to encourage people to sign contracts with the government to fight desertification, Shi made a deal with the local government to control 3,000 mu and became the first person to sign a contract in Yulin.

Over 30 years ago, a group of local Shi led people endured countless trials and hardships and planted and survived over 53 million arbors and 250,000 shrubs in the barren sand and alkaline beaches, eventually building a “Green Great Wall” stretching more than 30 miles [50 km] south of the Maowusu Desert.

The “Green Wall” has completely reversed the harsh environmental conditions and provided enormous social, environmental, and economic benefits.

While fighting desertification, Shi also tried to help families in difficult situations and bring benefits to local residents. He came up with more than 1.2 million yuan ($ 185,760) to build two schools and a relocation village, and to provide financial assistance to more than 300 homes.

For her contributions and dedication to desert management, Shi has been awarded honorary titles including China's "national model worker," "national champion of desert growth control" and "Outstanding Farmer" by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He is also called "Uncle Desert" by the locals.

Under the control of the desert, Shi and his family moved to the village of Sidahao, the largest barren sand dune town in Haiziliang township in Debian, in 1984, and began planting trees there. Although more than 85 percent of the trees he planted survived that year, 90 percent of the shoots were swallowed up by erosion and sandstorms a year or two later.

Instead of being discouraged by these challenges, Shi realized that he was foolish to start work not only with enthusiasm but also with the right attitude. So he consulted with a specialist in the Debian forestry office for desert treatment, and he learned from the experience of the Hengshan region of Yulin and elsewhere in sand control.

After discovering and embracing scientific methods, Shi and his team set up 800 kilometers of barriers to protect the sand from 6,000 in sterile sand, and eventually brought the survival rate of the plants they had planted to more than 80 percent.

By the end of 2004, 250,000 mu of empty sand and alkaline beaches on which Shi worked saw grasses and forests covered by more than 90 percent, indicating effective management.

After 2000, considering that the shrub wood that they had previously planted was short-lived and of little economic value and decoration, Shi began to transform those highly productive forests. To date. it has planted more than a million high-quality species, which are the heads of pinus sylvestris.

To make desertification management done for generations, Shi has set up a company that adheres to a development strategy that controls and uses impure sand and follows a method that connects the company with rural families and various foundations, with the aim of increasing people's income while fighting desertification.

Through this strategy and method, Shi founded more than a dozen economic companies, including pasture, dairy farm, purified water industry, and tourist attraction. His company now sees an annual turnover of more than 3.4 million yuan from the natural services and economic benefits of the trees grown under the trees.