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Forum to discuss business opportunities in China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-13 10:46

BEIJING -- More than 500 scholars, entrepreneurs and officials from both home and abroad are expected to convene in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region next month to discuss the prevention of desertification and seek opportunities for emerging industries in the region, organizers said.

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The Kubuqi International Desert Forum is scheduled to run from July 8 to 10 at a scenic area located in the Kubuqi Desert, one of China's largest deserts, said Wang Wenbiao, secretary-general of the forum's organizing committee.

Attendees will include officials from the Chinese government, leaders and representatives from the United Nations and other international organizations, as well as experts, academics and entrepreneurs, Wang said.

He said the forum will offer a platform for Chinese and foreign experts to share ideas concerning innovations in desertification-related technology, regional poverty alleviation, climate change and tourism related to desertification.

According to the organizing committee, desertified areas around the globe expand by about 50,000 to 70,000 square kilometers each year, with desertified areas totaling 38 million square km, or one-fourth of the Earth's total land area.

"Desertification has become a global issue, threatening more than 1 billion people in 110 countries and leading to annual economic losses worth $42 billion," Wang said.

China is highly vulnerable to desertification, as about one-third of China's total land area is already desertified, according to the country's forestry authorities.