China on the move: Cope with desertification

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The Alashan League is located at the western end of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where desert and desert-like grassland accounts for 90 percent of land area. CCTV reporter Liu Ying tells us how local herdsmen struggle to adapt to worsening conditions and are trying to adopt a more ecologically friendly way of life.

Every morning, Naren Batu takes his herd out to graze. He raises more than four hundred sheep and goats on 800 hectares of land. Severe drought has lasted years. Desertification deteriorates his grass, which becomes increasingly sparse. The sheep have to travel a much longer distance in order to find enough to eat. And to make things even worse, a different type of grass is growing due to the lack of rain. The new grass is lethal to the sheep.

Naren Batu said, "If the drought continues, I'll have to sell all my sheep. Sheep will feel ill after eating the grass and cannot be sold at good prices. I've sold 150 sheep so far this year and earned less than 20 thousand yuan. It's the worst year I've ever had ."

Naren Batu says he still remembers the days in the 1970's when there was plenty of rain and grass thrived and reached his knees. But the drought is not likely to end soon. Naren Batu has to plan for the future.

Naren Batu said, "If possible, I'd like to migrate to town. If things remain like this, we will not be able to sustain a living. Without rain, there's no future for grazing any more."

Naren Batu says he hopes to work in the county to support his four-member family though that means leaving the pasture which has been a way of life for generations.