File photo taken on Aug 25, 2012 shows a Japanese environmental protection volunteer soaking saplings before planting in order to improve their survival rate. [Photo by Xie Xiudong/Xinhua]

Private sector investment and active participation of locals

Representatives from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) agreed that the greening project in Kubuqi offers a model for the world to tackle desertification, and shows a new path to realize sustainable development through a balanced system of sand-control, ecology, and economic activity within a framework of marketization, industrialization and shared public benefit.

Zhang Jianlong, head of the State Forestry Administration, said the forum will be instrumental as a platform from which China can exchange experience in combating desertification with international communities.