HOHHOT, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Since mid-April, major grasslands in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have entered a grazing moratorium, which would last for 45 days to help grasses regain productivity.
Spring is also a high season for lamb production. These days, Mongolian herdsman Chogbat living on Xilin Gol grasslands is busy tending more than 100 new-born lambs and feeding more than 200 cattle and sheep in the pen.
"I prepared enough forage in October last year to feed the livestock till the end of the grazing moratorium period," he said.
He has built two new stables with government subsidies of more than 10,000 yuan (about 1,445 U.S. dollars).
Chogbat said local herdsmen can understand the necessity of the grazing moratorium, as grasses on the pasture are too fragile to withstand herding in spring.
Xilin Gol League and Hulun Buir City administrate major grassland areas in Inner Mongolia, where the grazing moratorium covers more than 220 million mu (about 14.7 million hectares) and 93 million mu areas, respectively, this spring.
Hosbayar, a law enforcement official in Xilin Gol League, said the local authorities provide ecological subsidies for herdsmen to purchase forage to get through the grazing suspension period. Local cooperative entities and enterprises also contribute funds to assist people to buy feed.
"Many herders are now fully aware of the importance of ecological protection and had stopped grazing even earlier than the mandatory grazing ban," Hosbayar said.
Inner Mongolia spans the vast northern territory of China and is a vital ecological barrier in the country. The region's grassland occupies about one-fifth of the country's total.
The vegetation, however, was threatened by desertification and degradation due to overgrazing, drought, and insufficient protection in the late 1990s.
Thanks to years of ecological preservation efforts, Xilin Gol grasslands have regained considerable vitality. According to the local forestry and grassland administration, the coverage of natural grasslands hit 26.5 percent last spring, marking an increase of 1.6 percentage points year on year. The average height of the grasses also increased by 1.4 cm to 8.8 cm during the period. ■
