China Plants Trees to hold back Desertification

^{China Desertification – Copyright The Environmental Blog}

In the inner parts of Mongolia there has been a problem of desertification that has been spreading south at a rate of 3km per year. The dust storms made once fertile land very difficult to farm anything for a profit. The government decided to try and build a ‘great green wall’ of trees and grassland approximately 435 miles which will stretch from Inner Mongolia, Hebei, and Shanxi provinces by 2010.

This is a noble cause that the Chinese government is doing to prevent further desertification.

Authorities worry that expanding deserts could put crops and water supplies in the world’s second largest economy at risk.

A survey showed more than a quarter of China’s land remained either degraded or lost to sand and gravel due to a combination of a naturally dry climate, centuries of over-cultivation and decades of excessive demand on water and soil from the world’s biggest population and fastest growing economy.

But the official leading China’s efforts against the problem said not enough was being done.

Despite the world’s biggest tree-planting campaign, the relocation of millions of “eco-migrants” and restrictions on herding and farming, the report noted the “desertification trend has not fundamentally reversed”.

China has a Desertification Control office to help with the problem. The head of the desertification control office in the state forestry administration says it may take China 300 years with their tree planting and other methods to truly solve the desertification process.

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JT (423 Posts)

Just living life in Portland, Oregon and enjoying every day that goes by. I love the environment, and I love community, and I love being able to share my experiences and perspective with the world. Follow @EnvironmentBlog

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