Desertification in Inner Mongolia, China - in pictures

Trees that have been planted to protect agriculture cast a shadow as cattle graze on a field in Kunlun Qi, in China's autonomous region of Inner Mongolia Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

Local farmer Chen Guo Fen holds her daughter as they look around at their field in Kunlun Qi, where volunteers from NGO Shanghai Roots and Shoots are helping to plant tree saplings Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

Mongolian ethnic minority farmer Mrs Gao carries poplar tree saplings for planting. Poplars are chosen because they are drought-hardy and effective at storing carbon, as well as being suitable for the local soil and climate Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

Sixteen-year-old farmer Gao Huang and his family have been planting trees around their land in an effort to protect their crops from the encroaching sands of the desert Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

Volunteers from Shanghai Roots and Shoots dig holes for tree saplings. They help local farmers plant trees on plots allocated by the government, where the farmers are licensed to harvest the trees that have reached maturity, but only if they replant on the same plot Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

Mrs Gao digs holes in trenches to plant tree saplings. Other steps to stop land degradation include moving nomadic Mongolians from grasslands to urban areas and restricting grazing Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

Gao Huang and his mother drive a horse cart through the Taminchagan desert on their way home after planting trees to protect their land Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

Mongolian ethnic minority farmer Qinglong feeds his cattle on a farm in Kunlun Qi Photograph: HOW HWEE YOUNG/EPA

A Mongolian ethnic minority herder leads her sheep in search for grazing grounds in Kunlun Qi. Grazing areas have been restricted as part of efforts to protect the environment Photograph: HOW HWEE YOUNG/EPA

A Mongolian ethnic minority farmer with her child on a farm in Kunlun Qi. Desertification also threatens communities in several other provinces in China Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

A volunteer from the NGO Shanghai Roots and Shoots prunes poplar trees that were planted in 2008 in Kunlun Qi Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

A man walks in the Taminchagan desert, where trees have been planted to fight desertification Photograph: HOW HWEE YOUNG/EPA

Local farmer Xiao Tian Hui and his wife Chen Guo Fen water tree saplings that have been planted with the help of volunteers from Shanghai Roots and Shoots Photograph: HOW HWEE YOUNG/EPA

A worker looks on in a logging yard where trees are turned into wood chip in Kunlun Qi Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA