Reclaiming the desert, the Chinese miracle

Middle Kingdom or now known as China, is a nation of varied climates. From fertile plains to huge Mountains to vast deserts it has it all. But the one problem it has been facing from centuries ago is the desertification. From ancient times china has been a country of huge population and widespread poverty. People used to graze and cut the trees extensively. This continued for centuries making the land barren and arid. Furthermore in 1958 Mao ordered nationwide deforestation to make fuel for the industries. This was the latest triggering factor for the desertification China is now facing.

China has been facing the negative impact of proliferating land degradation. With the vast Gobi Desert, famously known as “The Yellow Dragon” on the north, desertification is the major ecological problem China is facing.  The desertification costs China billions of dollars each year. The country has lost almost 24 percent of its land area to the encroaching desert since the 1950s. As per National Geographic, the Gobi Desert has expanded by more than 385,000 square miles, the area equivalent to the size of France and Germany combined since 1950s.

As a country plagued by extensive sandy desertification and frequent sandstorms and dust storms, China has been trying to find ways to achieve the sustainable management of desertified lands. So the Chinese government launched its “The Great Green Wall” project in 1978 and since then more than 70 billion trees have been planted.  It is a huge project expected to finish in 2050.The green wall being constructed covers the area of 4800km long and 1500km wide section bordering the Gobi desert.

The forestation campaign has not only stopped the advancing desert but in some parts has also pushed the desert back reclaiming the lost land. Climate refugees have also started to return to their home towns. This also aids to Chinas poverty alleviation program, by helping displaced farmers get their farmland back and promoting agriculture.

Scientists predict desertification will increase in some areas as the Earth’s climate changes, particularly where it gets hotter and drier. Already, in northwest China, decreased precipitation and increased temperatures are causing grasslands to be less productive. Northwest China is one of the most sensitive areas to global warming because it is super arid—the annual precipitation in most places is below 100 millimeters.

But we can stop desertification. The term ‘desertification’ implies it’s caused by human action, beyond the resilience of the environment and ecosystem. By removing the human action and giving enough time, the environment and ecosystem can be restored. Furthermore with new and advanced technologies the day when the Gobi Desert is successfully pushed back is not further away.