Initiative to protect pastures approved

HULUN BUIR, Inner Mongolia - Ninety percent of China's 400 million hectares of grassland are deteriorated to some degree, an agricultural official said, referring to the protection of grasslands as an "extremely pressing task."

Gao Hongbin, vice- minister of agriculture, was speaking at a national work conference on the protection of pasturelands. Officials came to an agreement at the conference to spend the next 10 years revamping China's deteriorating pastures by prioritizing environmental protection.

Gao's call came on the heels of a government circular that said the government will make efforts to protect the environment and increase economic growth in pasturelands, the deterioration of which have lead to desertification and sandstorms.