With the theme of "Combating Desertification for Human Well-being", the 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the UNCCD was inaugurated in Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Sept 6. Bu Xiaolin, chairwoman of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, attended and addressed the opening ceremony.

Bu pointed out that Inner Mongolia is praised for its bright scenery along the border of Northern China. It is an important ecological zone with the largest area of grassland and forests in China. The region has always been committed to green development. It currently has 182 natural reserves, three Global Geoparks, and 100 national-level forest parks, wetland parks and geoparks.

However, Inner Mongolia is also covered by large sand fields accounting for 23 percent of China's land facing desertification, she added. Inner Mongolia has always given top priority to the prevention and control of desertification and the improvement of the environment because they are the key to sustainable development. 

According to Bu, with all efforts over the past decades, including a continuous ecological remediation program and the promotion of an ecological red line system, the desertification areas of Inner Mongolia have been reduced year by year even as desert ecology has been improved. Since 2000, the areas of desert have shrunk by over 2.9 million hectares. Desertification control in the Kubiqi Desert won the UN Environment Award.

Inner Mongolia has also formulated a series of regulations and laws concerning the prevention and control of desertification and launched a voluntary tree planting program engaging all people, she added. 

"Relevant systems for technology promotion and services have been established, varied types of industrial models for desertification prevention and control have been developed, and Alxa Desert World Geopark, the only one of its kind in the world, has also been established."

After sharing those remarks, Bu proposed to build a "Green Inner Mongolia" and mobilize all social sectors to take action to strive for the most valuable treasures -- clear water and green mountains, thus improving the environment, economy and people's lives.

Bu noted that the convening of the COP 13 in Inner Mongolia not only provides us a great opportunity to learn from the experience of desertification prevention and control in other countries, but also encourages us to develop an ecology-based civilization. 

She hopes people can share their experience, and she is willing to cooperate with other countries to combat desertification and contribute to humanity's well-being.

The conference is a reflection of the shared vision of all mankind, highlights joint efforts in meeting the challenges, and will be an important milestone in global efforts against desertification, she said.