10th Kubuqi Desert Forum to Open: Ordos Emerges as a Global Green Beacon

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The Buzz Nepal
August 1 , 2025

ORDOS, CHINA – July 31, 2025:
This September, the global spotlight turns to Ordos in Inner Mongolia as it hosts the 10th Kubuqi International Desert Forum from September 8 to 9, 2025. Held under the theme “Scientific Desertification Control, Green Development,” the forum continues its role as a key platform for international cooperation in desertification prevention. Representatives from international bodies such as UNEP and the UNCCD Secretariat, alongside experts, government delegates, and scholars from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and beyond, will gather to share innovative solutions for ecological restoration and sustainable growth.

Kubuqi: From “Sea of Death” to Ecological Restoration

Once referred to as the “Sea of Death,” the Kubuqi Desert, China’s seventh-largest, has undergone a remarkable ecological shift. Through decades of strategic desertification control, the region’s rehabilitation rate has surged from 7% to 40% by 2024, with goals of 50% by 2025 and 70% by 2030. This transformation is anchored by a 420-kilometer northern shelterbelt and a four-pillar prevention model, integrating technologies like photovoltaic (PV) arrays and silt dams. Since 1995, these interventions have:

Curbed 5.7 million mu (380,000 hectares) of soil erosion,
Boosted soil-water retention efficiency to 61.4%, and
Prevented 300 million tons of sediment from entering the Yellow River.

At the heart of this recovery is the innovative “PV + Desertification Control” model. Today, 10.02 gigawatts of installed solar power in the Kubuqi Desert serves dual purposes: clean energy generation and land restoration across 46,700 hectares. The model blends solar energy on top, agriculture underneath, and grazing between a multifunctional approach that has increased both green coverage and income. Through “work-relief programs,” local households have seen average income boosts exceeding 30,000 RMB.

Landmark installations like the Steed Solar Park in Dalad Banner-featuring over 196,000 solar panels arranged in the shape of a galloping horse are now symbols of China’s active approach in ecological problem-solving.

Ordos’s Desert Strategy: Systematic and Tech-Driven

Ordos’s success rests on its commitment to “ecosystem integration”, implemented through four core strategies:

Financial Integration: Strategic investment of 14.9 billion RMB in desert-marginal forests and solar-powered ecological projects.
Technological Integration: Use of modern desertification control tools, reaching 60% field application of forestry and grassland innovations.
Benefit Integration: Balancing ecological goals with livelihoods – 16% of project funds are allocated to income-boosting work-relief programs.
Collaborative Integration: Partnerships with 30+ state-owned enterprises, 100+ private and non-profit organizations, 500+ engineering teams, and 25,000 local farmers and herders.

The Kubuqi Model has also become a point of global exchange, with technical collaborations extending to Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, and other countries. Recognized by UNEP, this approach is now viewed as a replicable model for tackling desertification worldwide.

Green Economy in Action: From Caragana to Clean Energy

Beyond environmental recovery, Ordos is building a robust green economy. Annually, 66,667 hectares of drought-resistant caragana shrubs are planted, totaling over 933,333 hectares of stabilized grassland. These shrubs are processed into 35,000 tons of livestock feed and 10,000 tons of biofuel each year.

In former mining areas, solar-powered farms showcase how degraded lands can be repurposed for sustainable use. In 2024, Ordos generated 7.5 billion RMB from forestry and grassland sectors and created 190,000 hectares of carbon-sequestering forests—an area more than 2.6 times the size of Singapore.

A Global Dialogue on Restoration and Sustainability

According to the UNCCD, 40% of the world’s land is currently degraded, affecting nearly half of the global population. As desertification becomes an increasingly urgent challenge, the 10th Kubuqi International Desert Forum provides a timely opportunity to exchange insights and experiences.

From Kubuqi to Riyadh, from the Yellow River to the Sahara, China’s model offers practical, scalable strategies for global restoration efforts. As the forum opens its doors this September, Ordos stands not just as a host but as a living case study of how science, collaboration, and community can turn the tide on desertification.