Workers build reticular barriers along sand dunes in the Tengger Desert in Inner Mongolia. China Daily Lou Zhiping is working on a project to combat desertification in northwestern China, thousands of miles from his hometown in Shengzhou, Zhejiang province. The 72-year-old has invented a long reticular barrier fixed vertically along the top of a dune. The barrier is a screen made of two layers of mesh fastened by iron threads and supported by a wooden bracket. When the wind blows, sand sifts through the mesh and settles between the two layers, transforming the screen into sandbags that prevent the whole barrier from falling down and being removed by wind or sand. The development of the barrier has involved 12 years of research into desertification control in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Qinghai province and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, areas severely affected by land degradation. I hope to provide a new way of combating desertification worldwide, reducing the cost of desertification control and gradually solving this serious environmental issue, Lou said. Once a farmer in his hometown, Lou is a proven inventor. Before he shifted his interest to desertification control, he spent 15 years focusing on gardening and landscaping. One of his previous inventions involved growing plants on vertical walls. In 2003, his involvement in landscaping and interest in ecological restoration inspired him to visit a desert in Inner Mongolia. I was shocked by the desert, a barren area where little precipitation occurred, in Dengkou county, he said. All of the pear trees, which were more than 10 meters tall, were buried under the sand. Few treetops could be seen in the dunes. Recalling the experience as thrilling and devastating, Lou has since devoted his time to developing simple and quick techniques to stop the moving dunes. He became a frequent traveler to the deserts in northwestern China in the years after his initial visit. Few, including his family, knew of his intentions. During his desert trips, he was asked the purpose of his visits. His answer was met with doubt and ridicule. kids wristbandswrist band com coupon codebat fidget spinnercustom rubber bands
Editor's note: In the run-up to the 19th Communist Party of China National Congress, China Daily is reporting on a number of key projects of national importance that showcase the country's great improvements in crucial fields, such as recent reforms aimed at improving living standards and creating a moderately prosperous society by 2020. This is the second report looking at the effects of reform in the country's rural areas. A man feeds chickens in a clearing in Wuping. [Photo by LIN SHANCHUAN/XINHUA] The lives of people in one region of Southeast China have been boosted by an unorthodox approach to poverty alleviation that has seen pioneering reform of the collective ownership system for woodland, Hou Liqiang and Hu Meidong report from Wuping county, Fujian province. In 2001, Wuping county, Fujian province, pioneered reform of the collective ownership system for woodland, and reaped great rewards by allocating forestry assets to individual families. The county's experience is now being promoted nationwide and reform is continuing. In the latest round, the county government has been instrumental in establishing village cooperatives that help farmers to secure loans and start businesses related to the forestry sector. Although it is against regulations for cooperatives to offer credit guarantees, some officials are prepared to turn a blind eye and satisfy demand from local residents. In 2015, Zhong Xinwen wanted to expand his plant nursery. However, he owned very few forestry assets so the only way he could obtain a loan was to find four people, including two public servants, who would offer credit guarantees on his behalf. After spending three months visiting all the public servants he knew or had ever been introduced to, Zhong only managed to find one person who was prepared to help. The 51-year-old resident of Yuanding village in Wuping despaired, and was on the verge of abandoning his expansion plans when he heard that a bonding cooperative was being set up in the village that would provide credit guarantees for loan applicants. Zhong was delighted to find that the cooperative made his life easier by arranging a 100,000 yuan ($14,680) loan in less than a week and that only one person would be required to use their forestry assets as collateral for his venture. The money he received allowed Zhong to expand his nursery by nearly 3 hectares, which helped raise his income by a substantial amount.
