OYU TOLGOI PLANTS 21,000 SAXAUL TREES

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ In the autumn of 2013, Oyu Tolgoi planted 10,677 saxaul tree seedlings across 6.3 hectares of the Gunii Khooloi area. Twenty eight herders from the area around Gunii Khooloi and Khanbumbat airport took part in three days of rehabilitation. As a result of extensive watering and maintenance, 79.7 percent of the seedlings survived their first winter. Oyu Tolgoi is committed to rehabilitating disturbed land to restore it back to as natural a state as possible. In order to accelerate this process, the company plants vegetation to establish a living environment for people, livestock and animals. Recently, tree planting and rehabilitation efforts have focused on the area of land around the Gunii Khooloi underground aquifer, where all of Oyu Tolgoi’s water is sourced from. Increasing numbers of local residents are volunteering to participate in the ongoing rehabilitation. This year, more than 100 people took part in a further eight days of rehabilitation. As of September, the total number of saxaul seedlings planted across 33 hectares of Gunii Khooloi is 21,235. Saxual rehabilitation work will continue until the end of October. Explaining the process, B.Altantsetseg, Environmental Superintendent at Oyu Tolgoi, said: “The preparation, planting and care of saxaul tree seedlings takes a lot of time. First, we collect wild seeds from the environment, clean and separate them from other seeds, and then dry them. We prepare seed pots between November and February and then place them in the planting area to start growing. After two summers and one winter, the young seedlings are transferred from the pots and planted in the ground.” Two local meetings have recently been held to update local people and herders on forest restoration. Fifty seven people attended these events, from organisations including the Khanbogd Governor's Office, Veterans Association, the local secondary school, and Khanbogd development radio, as well as representatives of local herders. During the meetings, more people signalled their wish to help with the process, reports Oyu Tolgoi press.