A green barrier is built among herdsmen to protect grassland ecosystem

(chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2014-09-22

While implementing the “8337” development strategy of “building Inner Mongolia into an important ecological safety shield in North China,” Xilin Gol League has struck a deeper chord in the hearts of the people with its philosophy that “protecting the eco-environment is to protect productivity and improving the eco-environment means to develop productivity.”

Herdmen praise eco-protection incentive and compensation mechanism

“The grassland eco-protection incentive and compensation mechanism is very flexible, 6.36 yuan ($1.04) per mu per year will be subsidized for herdsmen with a larger pasture, while a subsidy of 5,000 yuan per year for each person will be granted to herdsmen with a smaller pasture. Hence, every herdsman can benefit from this mechanism,” said Buhebater, chief of Jiren village in Jirengaole town, Xilin Gol League’s West Ujimqin Banner. “Our life has gotten better and better these years. Our income is almost the same as before the implementation of such an incentive and compensation system, but the grassland ecosystem has indeed become better. As herdsmen, we’ll lose our source of income if the grassland is gone. Only if the grassland ecosystem gets better can our posterity have a future.”

As a role model in implementing the grassland eco-protection mechanism in Inner Mongolia, the project of eco-protection incentive and compensation mechanism in Xilin Gol League has reached a total scale of 270 million mu (18 million hectares), which almost covers all available pastures in the league. Involving more than 70,000 households and 230,000 herdsmen, the project realizes the eco-protection incentive and compensation funding of 860 million yuan.