The International Grassland and Rangeland Congress, the well-known "Grassland Olympic", is scheduled to be held in China in 2008, when the nation's capital will host the 29th International Olimpic Games.

The congress is to be held in Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Monogolia Autonomous Region, from June 29 to July 5, 2008.

Approximately about 3,000 grassland scientists all over the world will convene in the city to discuss world grasslands' multi-functionality, said Hong Fuzeng, head of the preparatory committee of the 2008 congress, also former vice minister of agriculture and honorary president of Chinese Grassland Society.

The International Grassland Congress (IGC) and the International Rangeland Congress (IRC) are the two most influential academic groups worldwide on grass study. The IGC and IRC usually held congresses respectively every four years.

"But in 2008 the two groups will jointly hold the event in China where the total grassland area ranks second in the world,"

Hong said the 2008 congress will touch on topics like protecting and using natural grasslands in a sustainable way, grasslands' ecological system and laws and regulations on grasslands.

Global scientists will also be arranged by the congress to visit Inner Mongolia and Gansu Province in northwest China, and Yunnan Province in southwest to have an overall view about grassland conditions in the regions.

Chinese scientists intend to learn world's advanced grass technology from the congress so as to optimize China's grass industry, Hong said.

China boasts 400 million hectares of natural grasslands, or 41.7 percent of the country's total land space, the second largest in the world following Australia.

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