Hyundai Green Zone Project Turns Inner Mongolian Desert Into Grassland

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company has turned 30 square kilometers of infertile desert into grassland in Inner Mongolia, China.

AsianScientist (Oct. 11, 2011) – South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company has turned 30 square kilometers of infertile desert into grassland in China, as part of its global project to preserve the environment.

The Hyundai Green Zone project, which was started in 2008, aims to block desertification in Chakanor, an area within the Kunshantag desert of Inner Mongolia, China.

The Chakanor district in the Kunshantag desert, located about 660 kilometers north of Beijing, is one of the main origins of the daunting yellow dust; a strong, seasonal dust storm that blows into Northern China and Korea and causes a variety of health problems.

In close partnership with Ecopeace Asia, Hyundai has cultivated Suaeda grass in the Chakanor region, harvesting an indigenous plant found locally and that prospers in barren desert soils. As a result, a 30 square kilometer area of highly alkaline desert was transformed into green grassland.

Hyundai Motor plans to continue the restoration effort and create an additional 20 square kilometers of grassland by 2012. The total restored grassland will amount to 50 square kilometers, making it the largest restoration for a single area in the world.

In addition, the restoration will help create a sustainable economy in the region: indigenous people will have an incentive to care for the plants and maintain the restored ecosystems since the Suaeda plants and its seeds can be sold as medicines.

The company plans to share its anti-desertification experiences with members of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at its 10th session, taking place in Changwon, Korea from October 10 to 21.

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Source: Hyundai Motor Group.
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