After sustained restoration efforts, the once-shifting dunes of the Horqin Sandy Land are now cloaked in green. [Photo/Inner Mongolia Daily]

In China's Horqin Sandy Land, the "Hundred-Grass Pouches" initiative integrates native plant sowing into routine power line patrols, helping stabilize shifting dunes and protect power infrastructure. The low-cost approach offers a replicable model for combining energy development with biodiversity conservation.

The initiative in Naiman Banner, Tongliao city, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was the region's only case featured in Beauty of Biodiversity: Nature-Positive Solutions from Chinese Enterprises, released at a China-focused side event during CBD COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia, on Oct 23.

The project addresses a major challenge: the area's 1,780 kilometers of transmission lines and approximately 29,000 towers are threatened by shifting dunes that move 2 to 3 meters annually, eroding tower foundations and jeopardizing grid safety.

In 2021, local power workers drew inspiration from straw checkerboard barriers used to control desertification. They wondered whether they could sow seeds while patrolling transmission lines, combining routine maintenance with sand control.

Power workers sow grass seeds along transmission lines. [Photo/Inner Mongolia Daily]

State Grid Inner Mongolia Eastern Electric Power Co subsequently worked with forestry and grassland authorities to select 12 native, drought-resistant plant species and conduct seedling trials. Workers began carrying seed pouches during inspections and sowing native seeds along transmission routes, using deep-planting techniques adapted to dry conditions. The approach was designed to stabilize sand near tower foundations and slow dune movement farther away.

Community participation has also been key to the project. Local organizers established the "Anda Power Line Protection Alliance", inviting farmers and herders to join patrols and vegetation protection efforts.

The initiative has greened 460 kilometers of transmission corridors across seven power lines, covering 230,000 square meters, and stabilized 350 mu (approximately 23.3 hectares) of shifting dunes. More than 20 native desert plant species have reappeared, with vegetation survival rates exceeding 80 percent.

At the same time, power line failure rates have fallen by 56 percent and overall operation and maintenance costs have declined by 35 percent compared with pre-project levels.

Power workers, farmers and herders form the "Anda Power Line Protection Alliance". [Photo/Inner Mongolia Daily]