2011-06-01 18:56

Inner Mongolia holds China's largest coal reserves, or 741.4 billion tonnes. The region's coal output reached 210 million tonnes in the first quarter this year, up 27.5 percent year-on-year.

It produced 787 million tonnes last year, replacing Shanxi Province as the top coal-producing region.

But the region, with vast grasslands and forests, also serves as a natural barrier to prevent sandstorms and desertification from spreading across northern China. Environmentalists have warned that weakening the ecological system in Inner Mongolia could lead to serious environmental woes.

Ya Saning, head of the region's Economic and Information Commission, said it is important to balance the environment and the livelihood of local residents with economic development.

Mongols, who are traditionally herders, are the largest ethnic group in Inner Mongolia.

The region is covered by a massive subsidy program launched by the central government last year to protect the grasslands from overgrazing and the effects of climate change.

Under the program, cattle are not allowed to graze on protected grasslands, and cattle owners are granted an annual subsidy of 6 yuan per mu (0.067 hectare) for each cordoned off section.

The government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is also mulling the establishment of a series of subsidy schemes to compensate residents and herders who suffer from excessive noise and dust created by the mining and coal transport, officials said.

Covered trucks and sealed coal storage will be encouraged to reduce pollution, officials added.