China has gained a sliver of ground in its ancient battle against the desert sands, the government announced today, though it warned another 300 years may be needed to solve "the most serious ecological problem facing the country".
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.
Unveiling the results, state forestry officials said desertification had been stabilised, but recovery efforts would have to be stepped up.
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".
There were small signs of improvement. In the five years to 2010, the authors estimated the area of desert had shrunk by an annual average of 1,717 square kilometres. This was 40% better than the results from 2000-05, the first in China's history to ever show a gain.
But 1.7m hectares - more than six times the area of the UK - is still covered in sand dunes or gobi gravel desert. An even wider swathe of land is plagued by wind and water erosion or salination.
The report said desertification continued to pose a "serious hidden danger" to China's security and its capacity for economic development.
The government estimates that 530,000 square kilometres can be restored through afforestation, protection and natural regeneration. But the time needed for such an undertaking makes the Long March look like a weekend stroll.
"We've made progress, but we face a daunting challenge," said Liu Tuo, head of the desertification control office in the state forestry administration. "It may take China 300 years."
To accelerate the process, senior officials said anti-desertification spending would be beefed up to 200bn yuan (£19.4bn) over the next decade.
But there are major obstacles. In a few areas, such as mountainous north-west Sichuan, deserts continue to expand because local officials ignore restrictions on land reclamation and water use.
Zhu Lieke, deputy head of the state forestry administration, said climate change was another growing concern.
"The frequent occurrence of extreme meteorological disasters, such as prolonged drought, has increased the vulnerability of the land to desertification," he said, citing climate simulations that project a 17% increase in desert areas with each 1 degree rise in temperature.
Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia remain badly affected, partly because they are at a high elevation and more vulnerable to rising global temperatures, glacier melt, retreating snowlines and water shortages.
"We cannot be optimistic about the desertification situation on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau," said Zhu. "Of all the challenges Tibet faces, the biggest is climate change."
The government has controversially moved hundreds of thousands of nomadic herders off degraded grasslands in the past 10 years. Tibetan critics are suspicious that this is being done to clear land for development or resource extraction. Many environmentalists also question whether it is a mistake to put too much of the blame on overgrazing.
"The grass doesn't grow well without animals so herding limits may not be the best solution," said Wang Yongchen, an environmental activist who has seen the impact on annual visits to the plateau. "Our government is making a big effort to deal with ecological problems, but management and artificial steps alone cannot cope with the consequences of climate change."
Whatever actions the authorities take, it is unlikely that they can ever completely deal with desertification and its consequences.
The dust storms which blew in to Beijing from the Gobi have become rarer in recent years because of government efforts to encourage vegetation - which prevents the soil from being picked up by the wind - in surrounding regions.
Despite the improvement, officials were asked why the capital still had suffered a bright orange, dust-filled sky last spring.
"The sandstorms are a natural disaster like typhoons or earthquakes. We can try to control the source, but we cannot eradicate them altogether," said Liu.
He said China has the world's worst desertification problem because it has to meet the demands of such a huge population. Finding a balance is the government's stated goal, but it remains elusive.
China makes gain in battle against desertification but has long fight ahead | Environment | The Guardian
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.
Unveiling the results, state forestry officials said desertification had been stabilised, but recovery efforts would have to be stepped up.
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".
There were small signs of improvement. In the five years to 2010, the authors estimated the area of desert had shrunk by an annual average of 1,717 square kilometres. This was 40% better than the results from 2000-05, the first in China's history to ever show a gain.
But 1.7m hectares - more than six times the area of the UK - is still covered in sand dunes or gobi gravel desert. An even wider swathe of land is plagued by wind and water erosion or salination.
The report said desertification continued to pose a "serious hidden danger" to China's security and its capacity for economic development.
The government estimates that 530,000 square kilometres can be restored through afforestation, protection and natural regeneration. But the time needed for such an undertaking makes the Long March look like a weekend stroll.
"We've made progress, but we face a daunting challenge," said Liu Tuo, head of the desertification control office in the state forestry administration. "It may take China 300 years."
To accelerate the process, senior officials said anti-desertification spending would be beefed up to 200bn yuan (£19.4bn) over the next decade.
But there are major obstacles. In a few areas, such as mountainous north-west Sichuan, deserts continue to expand because local officials ignore restrictions on land reclamation and water use.
Zhu Lieke, deputy head of the state forestry administration, said climate change was another growing concern.
"The frequent occurrence of extreme meteorological disasters, such as prolonged drought, has increased the vulnerability of the land to desertification," he said, citing climate simulations that project a 17% increase in desert areas with each 1 degree rise in temperature.
Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia remain badly affected, partly because they are at a high elevation and more vulnerable to rising global temperatures, glacier melt, retreating snowlines and water shortages.
"We cannot be optimistic about the desertification situation on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau," said Zhu. "Of all the challenges Tibet faces, the biggest is climate change."
The government has controversially moved hundreds of thousands of nomadic herders off degraded grasslands in the past 10 years. Tibetan critics are suspicious that this is being done to clear land for development or resource extraction. Many environmentalists also question whether it is a mistake to put too much of the blame on overgrazing.
"The grass doesn't grow well without animals so herding limits may not be the best solution," said Wang Yongchen, an environmental activist who has seen the impact on annual visits to the plateau. "Our government is making a big effort to deal with ecological problems, but management and artificial steps alone cannot cope with the consequences of climate change."
Whatever actions the authorities take, it is unlikely that they can ever completely deal with desertification and its consequences.
The dust storms which blew in to Beijing from the Gobi have become rarer in recent years because of government efforts to encourage vegetation - which prevents the soil from being picked up by the wind - in surrounding regions.
Despite the improvement, officials were asked why the capital still had suffered a bright orange, dust-filled sky last spring.
"The sandstorms are a natural disaster like typhoons or earthquakes. We can try to control the source, but we cannot eradicate them altogether," said Liu.
He said China has the world's worst desertification problem because it has to meet the demands of such a huge population. Finding a balance is the government's stated goal, but it remains elusive.
China makes gain in battle against desertification but has long fight ahead | Environment | The Guardian
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