Recently, the 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was held in Ordos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. With the efforts ofthe Chinese Communist Youth League CUEB Committee and support from the Social Liaison Department of the Central Committee of Chinese Communist Youth League, Zhang Fengying, a second year postgraduate majoring in Land Resources Management fromthe School of Urban Economy and Public Administration, participated in the Youth Forum as a representative of young students.On behalf of Chinese youths,she shared ideason industrialization of desert tourism resources with international peers from various fields in the group discussion.

The Youth Forum of the COP13 opened on September8^th. The forum consisted of roundtable discussion, experience exchange, group discussion and a review session in order, and it put forward a proposal, Global Youths in Combating Desertification, which set azero growth target of global land degradation by 2030. Group discussion wasdivided into six parallel sessions--Government Organizations, International Organizations, Non-profit Organizations, Scientific Research Institutions, Businesses and Individuals.As a member of the Businesses group, Zhang Fengying proposed her ideas about the industrialization of desert tourism resources.

The High Level segment of the COP13 took place on September11^th. President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letterfor the convening of the meeting and extended warm welcome to the representatives of attending countries, directors of international organizations and personages from various communities. He also wished the conference a success. Vice Premier Wang Yang read the letter from Xi Jinping and made a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, sent a videoto address the meeting.

The UNCCD entered into force on December26^th, 1996and there are 196 Parties at present. The convening of the COP13 in Ordos, Inner Mongolia marked the first time for China to hold a UN environment conference, which is an acknowledgement to China’s achievements in desertification control.The Youth Forum, held for the first time at the conference, is of significant value in showing the positive image of Chinese youths and appealing to global youths for active engagement.