Written by: Xinhua News Agency
Posted on: May 02, 2018 | 
| 中文
Workers of Saihanba Afforestation Farm
Travelling from Saihanba, an afforestation farm located in north Weciahng Manchu and Mongolian Autonomous County of Hebei Province of China, to Nairobi, is a really fatiguing journey. One has to take a long-distance bus from the county to Beijing, which is about 283 kilometers, and then one has to fly to Guangzhou. From Guangzhou to Nairobi, by air, the journey takes over 30 hours, covering a distance of 12,000 kilometers.
On December 5th, 2017, Saihanbai Afforestation Farm was granted the Champion of the Earth Award, the highest environmental honor of United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, at the third UN Environment Assembly. But more arduous than the journey, are the 55 years and the people of three generations of Saihanba Farm, who created a green miracle. The model of ecological civilization development, in transforming the desert to an oasis, and degraded land to forests, is truly remarkable.
As the world’s largest artificial forests, Saihanba has an area of 1.12 million mu (about 75,000 hectares) and a forest coverage of 80%, meaning that if all these trees were planted in queues, with one meter row-spacing, the distance would equal to 12 trips around the equator. Like 12 scarves, these forests serve as green screens for the earth, discharging 570,000 tons of oxygen annually and providing clean air for 2 million people.
Located at the headwaters of Liaohe River and Luanhe River, Saihanba carries water of 137 million cubic meters every year, and increases the local rainfall against the average decrease of rain in the greater area of Northern China. It provides shelters for 261 kinds of land based wild vertebrates, 600 insects, 625 plants and large-size fungus.
The ecological restoration of Saihanban has gained significant benefits, ending its history of receiving external “blood transmission,” and instead starting to “generate new blood” for adjoining areas. According to some statistics, Saihanba National Forests Park has received 500,000 tourists in 2016, with a gate collection of 44 million yuan, bringing over 600 million yuan of local tourism revenue.
In addition, “selling carbons” has become a new growth point of the local economy. Its afforestation and carbon exchange project, has been put on the record of National Development and Reform Commission of China, for an emission reduction of 4.75 million tons carbon dioxides equivalent, which could be exchanged for over 100 million yuan of revenues when permitted on the stock market. The green mountains and clean waters have actually turned into “golden mountains” and “silver rivers.”
Mr. An Changming, deputy director of Saihanba Afforestation Farm, said that in the future more green industries will be developed in Saihanba, such as the forestry tourism, wind power and carbon sink. They will try to make the utmost use of its resources, to bring more benefits to people living nearby.
Zhang Zhenjiang, a 59-year-old forest ranger at Saihanba, has worked in the woods for 41 years, walking in the mountains for several dozens of kilometers every day, with very few days-off. When found by the reporter, he was patrolling in the snow lands, and said that two weeks later it would be even harder to walk through the snow. By then, the boots get wet and frozen, eyebrows and moustaches get frozen, and faces get wrinkled and reddish due to the cold. “But when overlooking stretches of forests, I feel that I’ve helped keep these mountains and woods for the younger generations. Especially when I’m told that our work has won international awards, I feel that I am young again!”
Similar to Zhang, there is a group of young fellows specially treating the plant diseases, working in the woods day by day. One of the participants told the reporter that tree varieties are similar here in Saihanba, with an average altitude of 1500 meters. When some pests emerge, they easily spread widely. Every year they would have to do sample inspections and tests, during the time of hibernation, and find out scientific measures to counter them.
Outside a fire-watch tower, the reporter tried to spill some hot water from a glass, and he found out that it turned into ice fog immediately, and the whole glass of water became frozen ice within ten minutes. In such a dreadful coldness, fire watcher Zhao Fuzhou needed to report the situation back to HQ, every 15 minutes during the daytime. He said that even more dedicated work should be done after the award since, “We are regarded as a model and need to show the world why we deserve it.”
“Saihanba” is a Mongolian word, meaning beautiful mountain. At present, foresters at Saihanba Afforestation Farm have been granted the top UN environmental award, because of their difficult, persevering and innovative work, which is an example showing that China is stepping towards the highpoint of environmental protection. After half a century of striving, the farm workers here have been constantly challenged by the natural hardships of aridity and high-latitude of the land. However, with scientific research and their “extended mind,” they have overcome difficulties in planting varieties of trees and other plants, as well as controlled and prevented the spread of pests. They have been carrying out various scientific research projects, such as enlarging the communities of forest birds and making one after another green miracles happen at the alpine sandy lands.
Erik Solheim, Executive Director of UNEP, said that China is now standing at a turning point of building up a greener country, and a green revolution is being carried forward with unprecedented speed. During this time, the new technology and practices that China has engaged in, will not only met its great domestic demands, but would also bring benefits to more developing countries, such as Africa.
Translated by Wu Jinying
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