URUMQI -- Authorities in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have recruited more than 8,000 poor farmers and herdsmen to take care of the region's forests this year.

The move aims to better protect trees in the region's Tarim Basin and Junggar Basin, which have fragile ecosystems, and to increase income of the poor population, according to the regional forestry department.

The rangers took on their new jobs earlier this month. They are required to patrol the forests to crack down on illegal logging and reclamation.

Yunus Memet from Kalpin county is among the rangers from 27 poor counties.

Previously, he earned a meager income working a small patch of farmland and a small orchard. His wife has been seriously ill, putting a huge economic burden on the family of five. The man's new profession will allow him to earn 10,000 yuan ($1,452) annually.

The local government plans to recruit another 10,000 rangers later this year.