Zhang Yinglong is from Shenmu. His hometown is located on the southeast edge of the Mu Us Desert. When I was a child, my hometown was poor and backward, and the yellow sand all over the sky became a memory that he could never erase. Since the reform and opening up, the great contrast between the rapid economic development in his hometown and the rapid deterioration of the ecological environment has become his biggest concern.
In 2002, Zhang Yinglong, then deputy general manager of a foreign-funded company in Beijing, applied to the local government for an investment of/kloc-0.00 million yuan to contract/kloc-0.98 million mu of desert sand in Gechougou, one of the headwaters of Tuwei River, and started the sand control project. However, after his savings of more than 6,543,800 yuan were spent, when he returned to his hometown for inspection, the base only opened a beach and Erli sidewalk. Some family members and relatives advised him, some sighed and complained, and all advised him to back down. Zhang Yinglong, on the other hand, resolutely refused to retain the boss of the company, resigned as the deputy general manager with an annual salary of 200,000 yuan, and went into the afforestation base alone with more than 2 million yuan raised to continue his sand control career. Over the past few years, Zhang Yinglong has invested more than 3.5 million yuan in individual sand prevention. To this end, he is as poor as a church mouse.
Second, set up an association to openly combat desertification.
In 2003, Zhang Yinglong personally went into battle and led the construction team to fight for more than a month, completing the afforestation task of the 500-mu Three-North Project. At the same time, it also made him realize the characteristics of long afforestation period, large investment, high difficulty and many repetitions in desert areas. It is impossible for him to finish it alone, and the whole society must be mobilized. The following year, with the approval of the county civil affairs bureau, Shenmu Ecological Protection and Construction Association initiated by him was established. The establishment of ecological association has been understood and supported by leaders at all levels and people from all walks of life, and its members are growing day by day. By the end of 2007, the number of group members has increased to more than 1000, and the number of individual members has reached more than1000. Members are involved in more than ten provinces and cities in China, as well as Japanese, Canadian and American people from all walks of life and local farmers.
In recent years, governments at all levels have invested a total of more than11million yuan through projects such as "Three Norths, Four Phases" and tackling key scientific and technological problems. Through the construction of "village-to-village" highway, the indirect support fund is nearly 9 million yuan; Together with social donations and personal investment, * * * invested more than 23 million yuan. The construction of ecological forest is advancing at a rate of more than 30,000 mu per year, reaching162,000 mu. In recent years, contracts have been signed with neighboring villages and state-owned forest farms to expand the contracted desert area to 428,000 mu, accounting for 40.7% of the Tuwei River water source protection area. 37.8% of the contracted management area was covered with green clothes, and the coverage rate of forest and grass increased by more than 40 percentage points, reaching about 60%.
Third, be diligent in exploration and scientifically control sand.
In order to arm himself, Zhang Yinglong visited Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and other places at his own expense, and visited many sand control experts, professors and experts, and gradually formed the working idea of "legally, scientifically, comprehensively and sustainably controlling sand". On the collocation of forest species, shrubs and native tree species are determined as the main species, and the principle of combining "shrub with grass and arbor" is implemented, with emphasis on promoting the planting of woody oil plants such as almond, almond and Xanthoceras sorbifolia. The advantages of planting mixed forests are complementary. In terms of cultivation techniques, actively explore scientific and efficient dry cultivation techniques and high-yield cultivation techniques to ensure that the survival rate of seedlings reaches more than 85%.
With Northwest University, Northwest A&F University, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of Ministry of Water Resources, China Academy of Sciences, etc., more than ten scientific researches such as Research and Utilization of Ecological Governance Model have been carried out, and many scientific research results have been obtained. Two of them have passed the appraisal of provincial scientific and technological achievements, and one is applying for a national patent. Shaanxi Forestry Survey and Design Institute and Shaanxi Institute of Sand Control jointly compiled "Planning for the Construction of Water Resources and Ecological Protection Area in Chougou River Basin in Tuwei River Source Area" and "Planning for the Protection and Vegetation Restoration Project in Tuwei River Source Area", which are long-term plans for the work of the Association.
Fourth, serve agriculture and control sand harmoniously.
Zhang Yinglong believes that only by achieving harmony between people can harmony between man and nature be achieved. Based on this concept, he took the initiative to serve agriculture: First, he actively cooperated with the agricultural sector and vigorously promoted "one pool and three reforms" in the project area. At present, 222 biogas digesters have been built in 4 villages in the project area, and 70% of farmers have used biogas digesters. The second is to introduce corn and watermelon seed production projects in the form of contract orders to guide villagers to plant pollution-free vegetables and green fruits. The third is to popularize advanced technologies such as plastic film corn and plastic film potato, and advocate the use of farmyard manure. At present, the planting area covered with plastic film in the four villages has reached more than 2,000 mu, and the grain output has been greatly improved. The highest yield of potatoes per mu has reached 10000 kg. Fourth, support the villagers in the project area to raise seedlings and collect tree species, and the association will recycle seeds and seedlings, so that the farmers who raise seedlings can increase their income by more than 5,000 yuan per mu. Priority will be given to absorbing the surplus labor force in the project area, and the per capita annual income of participants will increase by more than 3,000 yuan.
The most difficult problem of forest management and protection is that some villagers steal grazing. Zhang Yinglong's countermeasures are to hire local villagers and even sheep farmers as rangers, formulate strict reward and punishment systems, implement forest protection measures such as patrol, tending and fire prevention, and close hillsides to prohibit grazing, so that deforestation, illegal logging and stealing grazing are less and less.
Since last year, according to the strategic decision of the country to vigorously develop biomass energy, Zhang Yinglong has reached intention agreements with scientific research institutions such as Northwest University, Northwest A&F University, Japan-China Desert Greening Friendship Association, Xinhua Company, etc. to implement the construction of biomass energy base. Not long ago, Itochu Corporation of Japan, a fortune 500 company, also expressed interest in participating in the project. Under the leadership of Zhang Yinglong, the sand control cause of Shenmu Ecological Association is moving towards internationalization. The implementation of this project will promote the construction of the Three-North Project in Shenmu County and even the large-scale popularization of woody oil plants in northern Shaanxi, resulting in huge ecological, economic and social benefits.