Category: Uncategorized

ORDOS, China, Sept. 12, 2024 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/–

Viewed from above, 196,000 blue solar panels form a dynamic silhouette of a horse, galloping through the Kubuqi Desert.

Strolling around the solar power station in Chaideng Village, Ordos City, tourists marveled at the green vegetation and tracking solar panels that spun like sunflowers, and hardly believed that this was once a barren land called the “sea of death”.

The solar power station of Junma, which literally means horse in Chinese, is part of the “great photovoltaic wall,” an ambitious solar energy desert reclamation project, stretching along the northern edge of the Kubuqi Desert and south of the Yellow River.

Spanning about 400km in length and averaging 5km in width, upon completion, this solar marvel is set to have an installed capacity of 100 million kilowatts.

The benefits of solar-powered desert reclamation are substantial. The panels cut groundwater evaporation by 20 to 30 percent, provide shade, and reduce wind speeds, all of which support plant growth. This helps vegetation, like forage grasses that help combat dust and sand, thrive. In arid areas, integrating solar-powered water pumps with drip irrigation has proven to be an effective method for greening desert landscapes.

The “photovoltaic power generation plus desert reclamation” model — where solar panels generate clean energy above while plants and livestock thrive below — is also opening new income opportunities and transforming local livelihoods.

Locals are finding various ways to boost their income, such as leasing their desertified land, participating in project construction, and engaging in contract farming. New energy and ecological management companies are encouraged to hire local farmers and herders during both the construction and operation phases.

Li Kai, an official with Dalad Banner Energy Bureau, highlighted the Kubuqi Desert Ordos Central-Northern New Energy Base project as a notable example. In 2023, the project installed 2.18 million solar panels and employed over 3,000 workers, most of whom were local farmers earning between 300 (about 42 U.S. dollars) and 500 yuan per day.

Solar energy desert reclamation projects typically feature a protective forest system established around the photovoltaic power station, combining grass grid sand barriers (using materials like wheat straw, rice straw, and reeds arranged in grid patterns to mitigate wind erosion and retain moisture) with sand-fixing flora to better keep the shifting sands in check.

Wang Ming is a farmer in Pingyuan Village, Dalad Banner, who relies on agriculture for his livelihood. In the past, his annual income was only a few thousand yuan. However, the sand control and afforestation work at the new energy base has provided him an extra income source, increasing his annual earnings by nearly 10,000 yuan.

This spring, he spent nearly a month supporting the construction project, managing over 30 workers and several machines.

“I now have stable work right on my doorstep. I’m really happy,” Wang said.

He also mentioned that the project is set to install 8 million kilowatts of solar power. To him, sand control and tree planting offer stable employment.

The city of Ordos, with vast sunflower fields, previously faced challenges with disposing of post-harvest straw. Inner Mongolia Three Gorges Mengneng Energy Co., Ltd., developer of the Kubuqi Desert Ordos Central-Northern New Energy Base project, has turned this challenge into an opportunity by using the straw to build sand barriers as part of their solar-powered desertification efforts.

Each year, the company buys large quantities of sunflower straw from local farmers, using it to combat desertification. This eco-friendly solution also provides an additional income stream for the local farming community.

Liu Tianyun, deputy director of the forestry and grassland bureau of Ordos, said that by 2030, the “great photovoltaic wall” project will provide 50,000 stable jobs, increase average income per capita by over 20,000 yuan annually, and boost the annual output of the ecological industry by 1 billion yuan.

Source: The Inner Mongolia branch of Xinhua News Agency’s News & Information Center

–BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 (Bernama) — LRN Corporation in its new report revealed striking generational differences in how employees engage with their organisation’s code of conduct and approach ethical decision-making in the workplace.

More specifically, Gen Z employees say they are more likely to consult their employer’s code of conduct compared to their older counterparts (63 per cent versus 49 per cent of Boomers, for example), but are paradoxically 2.5 times more likely to agree that bending the rules is acceptable to “get the job done”.

This generational divide poses unique, and significant, challenges for ethics and compliance (E&C) professionals aiming to build a consistent ethical culture across their multi-generational workforces.

A leader in E&C solutions, LRN Corporation in a statement said its 2024 Code of Conduct Report highlights a range of insights that reflect the evolving challenges in promoting and enforcing ethical behaviour in the workplace.

The research also found that employees in India and China, where code of conduct training was most prevalent among respondents (97 per cent and 91 per cent of employees respectively), are the most likely to engage “very often” with their code of conduct (47 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively).

Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, 64 per cent respondents were least likely to have had training and 35 per cent are the most likely to say they “never” engage with it.

The findings showed that a notable gap continues to exist between how senior leaders, middle managers and front-line employees perceive the importance and use of the code of conduct, with 90 per cent of senior leaders believe that the code is followed, yet this confidence drops to 81 per cent among middle managers and just 69 per cent among front-line employees.

Despite organisations increasingly rolling out web-based or interactive codes of conduct, employees are 1.7 times more likely to prefer viewing the code in a traditional PDF format. This suggests that organisations need to communicate the benefits of digital tools more effectively to encourage adoption.

The report also uncovered employees in hybrid work arrangements show the highest levels of code engagement, indicating that a balanced approach between remote and in-office work is likely to play an important role in ensuring more effective E&C programmes.

— BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) — Themed “Driving Sustainability with Digital Innovation”, the 44th ASEAN Railway CEOs’ (ARCEOs’) Conference wrapped up successfully in Bandung, Indonesia, from Sept 2 to 5.

This year’s ARCEOs’ Conference focused on sustainable and eco-friendly railway development supported by digital transformation in safety and service aspects, with PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) (KAI) appointed as the organising committee for the conference.

Seven other ASEAN railway operators that were also present are Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Malaysia), Vietnam Railways (Vietnam), Ministry of Public Works and Transport (Cambodia), Lao National Railways (Laos), Philippine National Railways (Philippines), Myanma Railways (Myanmar), and State Railway of Thailand (Thailand).

KAI Chief Executive Officer, Didiek Hartantyo stated that the goal of the 44th ARCEOs’ Conference is to strengthen relationships and cooperation among railway operators and industry stakeholders in ASEAN.

He emphasised that working together allows for achieving greater accomplishments and truly realising the ASEAN spirit of mutual benefit, shared success, and resilience in facing various challenges.

Explaining this year’s theme, he believed the theme stems from the global challenges faced, including the urgent need to address climate change, improve operational efficiency, and meet the growing demand for more sustainable transportation options.

“Additionally, advancements in technology and changes in customer demands play a significant role in shaping our focus,” he said in a statement.

The event included several working group sessions to share best practices and discuss various issues ranging from the implementation of digital technology, railway human resource development, digital marketing, service transformation, to the application of high-tech railways such as high-speed trains.

Delegates had the opportunity to experience the first high-speed train ASEAN region, Whoosh train from Padalarang Station in Bandung, West Java, to Halim Station in Jakarta, followed by a tree planting activity, as well as the chance to ride the Panoramic Train, designed to offer panoramic views along the journey with large windows on both sides.

Furthermore, to support environmental sustainability and digital innovation, KAI deployed electric vehicles during the ARCEOs’ Conference, provided eco-friendly souvenirs, and used an app as an information platform throughout the event.

— BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 (Bernama) — The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has celebrated its 50th anniversary in Riyadh, bringing together key development partners to reflect its significant contributions to sustainable development worldwide.

Over the past five decades, SFD has allocated over US$20 billion, financing more than 800 development projects and programmes in vital sectors, including social infrastructure communication and transportation, energy, agriculture, as well as mining and industry. (US$1=RM4.36)

During the event, SFD Chairman, Ahmed Al-Khateeb emphasised the importance of collaboration in driving global development and highlighted that SFD’s success is deeply rooted in its partnerships, with 27 development projects and programmes in 23 developing countries in 2023 co-financed with other funders.

In a statement, he also underscored the need to forge new partnerships and strengthen existing ones to create a world where every individual has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Meanwhile, its Chief Executive Officer, Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad said: “As we celebrate five decades of impactful work, we are committed, now more than ever, to supporting developing countries on their journey to economic self-reliance and resilience.

“This work is not just about financing; it is about tangibly improving lives, creating opportunities, empowering communities, and building a more prosperous future.”

On the sidelines of the 50th Anniversary Gala, SFD and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a new US$25 million agreement to co-finance a renewable energy development project in the Solomon Islands, with aims to develop renewable energy infrastructure, reduce dependency on fossil fuels, and promote sustainable development in the region.

This agreement builds on SFD 50 years of transformative impact through development projects that have spanned Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe.

As the SFD looks to the future, it reaffirms its mission and pledge to drive international development efforts, on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to contribute to global stability, social progress, and economic prosperity for future generations.

— BERNAMA

HOHHOT, China, Sept. 3, 2024 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/–

In recent years, raising a cat has become a choice for many people worldwide. There is a growing preference for these kitties to enjoy a healthy living environment. Firms in a north China county have been making continuous progress in the market niche of cat litter products, to meet customers’ demand.

In a laboratory, Wang Xiaoli and his colleagues have been developing low-dust mineral and lightweight products, utilizing bentonite. In the workshop, by inputting the mineral ore into a green production line, and through a series of automatic manufacturing processes, a bunch of cat litter, as small as millet, can be produced.

These scenes offer a glimpse of the research and production of Chifeng Menghong New Materials Co., Ltd., a cat litter producer based in Ningcheng County, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

“We introduced new technology and functional materials to increase bentonite litter’s clumping and odor absorption function so that cats can live healthily in a low-dust environment,” said Wang, a technician at the company.

The county has an annual cat litter production output of 1.5 million tonnes with some 1,100 people engaged in the industry in 2023, with an output value of 900 million yuan (about 126 million U.S. dollars) and a tax revenue of 70 million yuan, according to local authorities.

Over the past two decades, Ningcheng has seen rapid and innovative development in the cat litter industry.

Zhang Yongsheng, general manager of Ningcheng County Chongai Pet Products Co., Ltd. said it used to make chemical fertilizer, while a Japanese client reached out to the former factory manager in 2002, looking to utilize locally-sourced bentonite for cat litter production. The experiment proved successful, leading to the establishment of the county’s first cat litter production line.

“It is a good business as bentonite here is of high quality. It forms solid clumps and is easy for scooping and cleaning,” said Zhang. “Since then we have made efforts to research and develop more cat litter products.”

Now cat litter with fruit fragrance fills the air in his lab, and many products have been exported to Japan, the Republic of Korea and other countries and regions.

There are 32 cat litter companies in the county at present. These companies are active in research and have enlarged sales channels, improved manufacturing quality, and complied with international standards, among others.

“These companies are able to produce tailor-made cat litter of different varieties and odors,” said Zhang Haixuan, head of Ningcheng County. “Bentonite products including cat litter manufactured in the county have been exported to 106 countries such as Finland, Russia and Malaysia.”

Dong Wenjun, a professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, said: “Cat litter produced in Ningcheng has been transforming to products with higher added value, with features such as lighter weight, water resolution and diverse scents.”

According to an industry report, the urban pet (dogs and cats) consumption market in China grew to 279.3 billion yuan in 2023, up 3.2 percent year-on-year. The cat market scale and the number of pet cats saw 6 percent and 6.8 percent growth, respectively.

Zhang Yongsheng said more and more young people have become pet owners, and they pay more attention to their pets’ health and comfort.

“We are trying to provide our customers greener and healthier products and ensure their cats have a better life quality,” he said.

Source: The Inner Mongolia branch of Xinhua News Agency’s News & Information Center

–BERNAMA