"By scientifically and reasonably utilizing grasslands, we can not only protect the ecological environment, but also become rich. This is a good policy we herdsmen are waiting for," said Simu Jidele, a herdsman in Bayan Hushuogacha Village, Xinihe Town of Evenki Autonomous Banner in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, whilst looking at the vast grassland. He said that herdsmen do not want their herds to eat up the pastures, which are better than previous years. They hope to recover the deteriorated grassland.

In October 2010, China's State Council decided to establish a grasslands ecological protection subsidies and awards mechanism in eight main grasslands stock raising areas in Inner Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region between 2011 and 2015. The Central Government will allocate more than 13 billion yuan each year as subsidies for the banning of grazing, awards for the balance of grass and livestock as well as production subsidies. This is done to enhance the grasslands ecological protection, transform the animal husbandry development mode, and promote the sustained increase of pastoral farmers' incomes.

Inner Mongolia has 1.3 billion mu of natural grasslands. In order to accelerate the establishment of a grasslands ecological restoration compensation mechanism, Inner Mongolia decided to increase the amount of compensation for the banning and rotation of grazing, as well as to promote grazing land recovery. In areas with a highly deteriorating ecology that is unsuitable for living, as well as areas where grazing has been banned for the long term, programs including poverty alleviation by migration, border ecological migration and moving farmers to towns. This will be carried out continuously.

A herdsman living in Saiyin Xiligacha Village of Sonid Right Banner, Xilin Gol League calculated the amount of grasslands compensation that his family can receive. His family of six has 15,000 mu of grassland. According to the national grazing ban subsidy standard, they can get a compensation of more than 70,000 yuan annually while the grassland is being restored. Before the policy was implemented, his family raised 500 to 600 sheep and had an annual net income of only over 40,000 yuan after the forage grass cost was deducted. Now they can get more money by raising less or even no sheep. The herdsman said, "We herdsmen are all for grazing bans."

Currently, encouraged by the establishment of a national grasslands ecological protection subsidies and awards mechanism, many herdsmen have started to seek help from animal husbandry associations, feed livestock in house and have migrated to other areas in order to get rich by transforming the traditional mode of production.