Alxa League is located in the western part of the Inner Mongolia Plateau in China. 93.15% of Alxa’s vast territory is desertified area. Three deserts, including Badain Jaran, Tengger and Ulan Buh, traverse the whole league, collectively known as the Alxa Desert. As a typical arid and semi-arid area, Alxa suffers from drought most of the year. It has become one of the largest sources of sand and dust storms (SDSs). SDSs from both the north and the northwest pass through Alxa, which affect as much as half of China’s territory in windy spring seasons and threat the near Yellow River, key infrastructures, agricultural production and people’s health. The deserts are expanding and have joined together in many places within Alxa. As a whole, they extend around 20 meters eastwards each year. Measures need to be taken to slow the pace of desertification and prevent the further converging of these deserts. Due to climate change and unsustainable human activities, vast areas of natural saxauls forests in Alxa were severely destroyed and degraded in history. Regeneration of natural saxauls forests is very slow and difficult, doing little work to slow desertification.

Anthropogenic causes also contribute to land desertification in Alxa. The significant population growth since the 1960s has put tremendous pressure on nature. Overgrazing has led to grassland degradation, excess logging of firewood has resulted in a sharp decline in shrublands, and over-abstraction of groundwater has caused a significant drop in the groundwater level. All these factors contribute to acceleration in grassland degradation and desertification, causing governments to impose a ban on grazing or limit the number of livestock raised on grassland. Local herders either lost livelihoods or had their livelihoods severely affected. Their incomes saw significant decrease.

Based on one decade of experience and practices of desertification prevention in Alxa, the SEE Foundation formally launched the 100 Million Saxauls Project in 2014, to address the pressing challenges of land degradation and desertification, vegetation and biodiversity loss, climate change, as well as livelihoods and income deterioration of local communities. With the participation of local governments, local herders and their cooperatives, civil society organizations, entrepreneurs and the general public, the project is aimed to plant 100 million desert plants represented by saxauls (Haloxylon ammodendron) and restore 133,300 hectares of vegetation in key ecosystem areas in Alxa within a time span of ten years while making good use of the derivative economic value of Saxauls, shifting to eco-friendly economic sectors and improving the living standards of local communities. From 2014 to 2021, 75.1 million desert plants represented by saxauls had been planted, covering an area of 76,786.66 hectares.