UN General Assembly
2007

not only at meeting UNFCCC obligations, but also at setting priorities for action and integrating climate change concerns into other national and sectoral development plans and programmes. Furthermore, our MDG-based national development strategy, the draft of which was recently submitted to Parliament for its consideration and approval, contains a separate chapter on environmental policy. It identifies the protection of nature and the environment, the reasonable use of natural resources, and climate change concerns among national priority goals. The draft strategy is expected to be approved by Parliament this autumn. On a more practical side, in 2005 my Government launched a major programme on agroforestry development, entitled Green Belt, in an attempt to combat desertification, stop sand movement, and reduce dust and sand storms. Upon its completion, a great green wall will extend for 2,500 kilometres from the East to the West of the country, shielding the steppes from the Gobi desert. In the energy sector, which is mostly based on fossil fuels, particularly coal, the Government is making continued efforts to introduce an alternative or