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1997
Special> China's Tibet: Facts & Figures> Beijing Review Archives> 1997
UPDATED: May 9, 2008 NO. 28, 1997
Will Sand Drift to Our Doorstep Tomorrow?
By Jiang Wandi, Our Staff Reporter
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Every winter challenges the patience of inhabitants in China's north and, in particular, northwest regions, who suffer from incessant bad weather featuring gale--blown sand. As the wind from Siberia begins howling over the cities and villages, it picks up sand from the deserts in the northwest and, soon, every inch of the living space is filled with dirt. Even worse, the windy weather lingers to spring, making people feel upset when the flying sand screens the blue sky and thick dirt tarnishes the sprouting greens.

On May 5, 1993, a catastrophic sandstorm swept over the region, turning daytime into night for three hours. As a result, 72 counties in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu Province, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia suffered heavily. There were over 100 casualties, some 370,000 hectares of farmland were destroyed and the total economic loss was put as high as 543 million yuan.

On the afternoon of May 16,1995, another disastrous sandstorm struck Yinchuan, capital city of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. When it came, vehicles on the roads came to a halt as visibility was reduced to one meter. Windows of local residences were smashed and power lines were snapped. All factories had to suspend production and great amount of grain was destroyed. Local residents said that it seemed that doomsday had come.

According to environment experts, the vast region covering Gansu Province, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia suffered more natural disasters caused by sandstorm in the past 50 years than during the long period from the 3rd century BC to 13th century. Records show that about 1,000 years ago, such serious sandstorms as those in 1993 and 1995 took place once every 100 years on average. Now, they occur every two or three years. A scientist with Ningxia Environmental Protection Bureau explained that Ningxia was a green land about 1,000 years ago, but now three-fourths of the land have become desertified.

China is one of the countries in the world most seriously prone to desertification. Geographically, China's arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas lie well inland. The long distance to oceans and the intersected mountain ranges, particularly the uplifting of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, block the movement of vapor from the oceans. Consequently, these areas have been turned into the driest zones with fragile eco-environment characterized by the least precipitation and the highest evaporation at the same latitude in the world. A recent survey shows that about 80 percent of the land in north China's arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas have become desert to some extent.

According to Wang Zhibao, vice minister of Forestry, the recent large-scale survey made by scientists of the ministry resulted in reliable data accurately picturing the advance of deserts. By now the desert-affected land totals 1.689 million square km accounting for 17.6 percent of national territory. The situation will be even worse if the standard and definition of desertification made by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is used. By this criteria, the affected area grows to 2.622 million square km accounting for 27.3 percent of the territory. About 400 million population live in these areas.

China is also among the countries which have successfully developed various advanced techniques combating desertification. Two generations of scientists have been devoted to the cause since the late 1950s creating countless applied techniques. These mainly include dune fixation and sand stabilization with biological complex and mechanical measures along railways, highways and mining facilities, enlarging farmland by pumping flood water in the rainy season to flatten sand dunes, air-seeding of bushes and grasses to re-vegetate shifting sand areas and so forth.

Teams of scientists, with experts of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Forestry as the backbone, have been based in the deserts year in and year out for several decades. Supported by local communities, they have built many experimental bases demonstrating the possibilities of turning sand into green land again. During the period from 1991 to 1995 alone, when the national plan to combat desertification began, more than 4.29 million hectares of desertified land were rehabilitated.

The railway from Baotou in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province, runs all the way through desert. When passing the Shapotou area of Zhongwei County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, it is flanked by huge drifting dunes for 50 kms. Thanks to dune fixation technique through biological means, the railway has been well protected and its traffic has never been stopped since 1958 when it was put into use. This is recorded as one of the most successful projects in combating desertification by world-wide organizations and experts.

A large-scale afforestation project carried out since 1979 by scientists of the Chinese Academy of Forestry has proved to be a great success.Covering sand land of over 1,400 hectare in the northeastern part of the Ulanboh Desert in Inner Mongolia, it is regarded as the largest desert oasis in the world. As a general-purpose experimental site, it not only has vast stretches of shelterbelt system, but also farmland and orchard. Constant checks for years show that because of the existence of the oasis, local climate and environment quality have enormously improved.

A national project, called "Three North" Protective Shelterbelts System, to combat desertification and protect farmland is creating a forest defense line from northwest to northeast. Started from the 1970s, the "green Great Wall" has increased the forest coverage in the region from previous 5.05 percent to 9 percent.

Despite the scientific achievements and large investment of cash and labor in the recent 20 years, China still records deterioration of conditions with an annual spreading ratio of desertification being 2,460 square km, turning good arable land into a wilderness. Now, it has occurred to people that irrational human activities are the major causes apart from the unfavorable geographic and climate factors.

Mr Gao Shangwu, leading expert in combating desertification with the Chinese Academy of Forestry, pointed out that blind reclamation and cultivation, over-grazing of grasslands, excessive collection of firewood and undue cutting down of forests, unplanned mining, and irrational utilization of water resources are the major human factors resulting in the continuous land deterioration.

The 74-year-old scientist said that the food problem has always been pressing in the country over the past several decades due to the huge population, and, hence, some local governments which were ignorant about science and environment made many mistakes by merely emphasizing agriculture at the cost of environment.

Inner Mongolia is a place short of water resources and most of the land there is not suitable for farming. But the local government encouraged more land to be brought under cultivation by giving subsidies in the 1960s and 1970s. Consequently, the land opened up was soon abandoned because of poor irrigation, resulting in serious desertification.

The Tarim River is the longest inland river in China, running for 2,200 km in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Because of its abundant water and dense forest of populus euphratica growing on its banks, the whole drainage area, which covers 198,000 square km, creates a valuable oasis in desert. Unfortunately, human activity since the 1960s such as blind cultivation and lumber activities on its upper reaches caused large-scale drying up of the lower reaches. As a result, the river has shortened by 300 km in the past three decades and the eco-environment in the valley has been swiftly deteriorating. In the past few years alone, the Kuruk Desert has moved 60 km pressing on toward the valley and some sections of the valley are now just two km away from the Taklamakan Desert, the largest drifting desert in the world. Environmental experts warn that the Tarim River would have disappeared completely in a short time had the desertification tendency continued.

The Chinese government and the public have been aware of the urgent need to stop desertification since the early 1990s. Heavily burdened by its huge population, the nation is attaching great importance to agricultural production and scientific application of arable land. While its economic development is well on track, and the majority of the families will never have to bother how to prepare the next meal, the nation has begun to put environment and sustainable development into account rather than merely solving food problem by every means possible. Therefore, it is against this background that the campaign to stop desertification has been widely fashioned with its historical and social significance being far greater than the sand-control project starting 40 years ago.

In 1991, the State Council approved "The Outlines of the National Overall Plan to Combat Desertification, 1991-2000" for inclusion in the national economic and social development plan. In 1994, the China National Committee for the Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was established. Headed by the Forestry minister, the group consists of senior officials of 16 governmental instrumentalities such as State Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Following the government action, several scientific and research institutions emerged, including the China National Desertification Monitoring Center, China National Training Center for Combating Desertification, and China National Research and Development Center for Combating Desertification.

China became a signatory of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 1994, and founded its national committee for program implementation soon after. By so doing, the Chinese program has been an important part of the global effort under UN supervision. International exchanges and cooperation have been enhanced since then on. Last May, China hosted the Asian Ministerial Conference on Combating Desertification in Beijing.

In order to acquire reliable data about China's desertification condition, the largest survey in the nation's history was made by the Ministry of Forestry from 1994 to 1995 by organizing almost 10,000 scientists and technical staff throughout the country. The survey covered 860 desertaffected counties, spreading over 4.57 million square km. Based on this, a White Paper on Combatting Desertification was issued in April, along with several maps of desertification distribution.

Now that government concern and technical methods are available, public awareness and substantial action are the key factors affecting the program's real implementation. Since 1995, several non-governmental environment organizations have organized volunteers, adults and children, to plant trees in Inner Mongolia's desert areas in summer holidays. It has been a fashion in recent years that white-collar people in cities spend weekends in the barren mountain or sand land nearby planting trees.

According to Dr Ci Longjun, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Forestry and general director of the National Bureau to Combat Desertification of the Ministry of Forestry, environmental awareness of ordinary people and, in particular, farmers living in the desert areas, constitutes the most important force guaranteeing the national program's final success.

Inner Mongolia's Wushen County lying in the Maowusu Desert used to be a poor area. Living on barren land, local people would dig up every bush and even grass root they found for either eating or selling. When they went to bed at night the only thing bothering them was whether or not the dunes would move onto their doorstep the next morning and prevent the door from opening.

Now, Wushen has been a green land famous for growing various fruits. Solar and wind energy are widely used for generating household power. While leading a pleasant life, the local people like to remind every passer-by, as well as themselves, to be careful of the greenery, which, they said, would be the very basis of their wealth and the most valuable heritage for their descendants.

(This article appears on page 23, No. 28, 1997)



 
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