Subsidies turn desert control into moneymaker

Editor's note: As protection of the planet's flora, fauna and resources becomes increasingly important, China Daily is publishing a series of stories to illustrate the country's commitment to safeguarding the natural world.

Rows of small, leafy oleaster trees stretch toward the horizon on the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Still short and fragile, each sapling is propped up by a bamboo stick to withstand the desert gales, while low carpets of green wheat and alfalfa shield the soil between them.

At first glance, the sparse plot looks like a struggling farm. In reality, it represents a radical ecological turnaround. Little more than a year ago, this site in Hotan prefecture was an arid expanse dominated by shifting sand dunes over 10 meters high.

The transformation relies on an innovative local governance model launched in 2024 — the "first-build-then-subsidize" policy. To balance costly ecological restoration with local economic survival, the government allocates desertified land to residents rent-free. Residents bear the upfront cost of leveling the dunes and planting drought-resistant vegetation; the government only delivers financial subsidies after independent inspectors verify a tree survival rate of at least 85 percent.

Sudiomar Tursun, a resourceful villager and entrepreneur from Ayimak village, was among the first to gamble on the policy. In October, she formed an agricultural cooperative with 18 fellow villagers to tackle a heavily desertified plot.

To fund the massive undertaking, Sudiomar pooled her life savings, sold personal assets and secured loans from relatives to amass nearly 4 million yuan ($550,000) in upfront capital. Her friends considered the project so risky that they told her she would ruin herself.