Gobi, a 1.3 million square kilometers barren land space between northern China and Southern
Mongolia, is the fastest growing desert in the world.
And according to experts, around 3621 kilometers of grassland are lost to this naturally occurring
phenomenon which threatens to collapse China’s agricultural economy and food supplies.
However, a coalition of Chinese scientists, the government, and local farmers are fighting
back against this common enemy with some of the most unprecedented techniques ever seen.
Join us in today's video as we reveal how China has shocked the global science community
by modifying nature and creating vegetation in one of the world’s driest deserts.
How Bad Is The Desertification Problem In China?
And Why is China Building Another Great Wall?
Let's find out together.
Unlike the Sahara or Arabian desert, which has sand dunes spread over it, much of the
Gobi Desert landscape is covered with volcanic rocks - about 95 percent, to be precise.
Located in one of the most remote regions in Asia, Gobi, which means “waterless place”
in Mongolia, also features some of the most extreme and contrasting temperatures, even
for a dessert.
Average temperatures range from as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit in January to potential
113 degrees Fahrenheit in July.
Although, daily temperature could be much higher in some rare cases.
Annual total precipitation also varies as well, ranging from less than 50 mm in the
west to around 200 mm or eight inches in the northeast.
Due to this contrasting harsh climate condition, some parts of the Gobi desert only witness
rain once in three years.
Sounds really bad, yea?
But then, how bad is China's desertification problem?
Well, China’s desertification problem is more far-reaching than you think.
The Asian giant is the world’s third-largest country by landmass, only behind Russia and
Canada.
For perspective, China’s over 9.5 million landmass spans five geographical time zones
and borders 14 countries across four continents.
China is 39 times bigger than the United Kingdom, covering exactly 1.88 percent of the world’s
entire land surface area.
This sounds like a whole lot of space on paper, and in reality, it is.
But what if we told you that only 1.28 million square kilometers or approximately 13 percent
of China's landmass supports agriculture?
Deserts such as Badain, Jaran, and Gobi make up 28 percent of the landmass, while mountains
cover 58 percent.
Together, they dominate more than 80 percent of China’s land surface area.
This has had a direct impact on the lives of 400 million citizens.
It's clear that the Gobi desert is just one of China’s numerous desertification issues,
but it's a significant problem that must be tackled if China wants to maintain its current
economic growth trajectory.
So, what is China doing to prevent the spread of this desert?
According to experts, climate change and human economic activities are responsible for the
country’s land degradation and desertification problems.
But thankfully, it's a problem that human and scientific activities can reverse.
China is deploying its full technological strength against this menace, but the Asian
giant is getting some external help as well.
In 2012, the World Bank started a $80 million project in China's Ningxia province to restore
natural vegetation, decrease desertification, and execute other environmental protection
measures.
Nigxia is located in northern China and is surrounded by three major deserts.
Before the World Bank initiative, the region has been battling aggressive desertification
for more than 60 years.
As of 2010, nearly three million hectares or 57 percent of the area had been directly
affected by land degradation or desertification, encroaching farmlands, and villages.
But improvements have been made since the World Bank Project launched.
For example, the Baijitan forest farm in Lingwu county received just 160 millimeters of annual
rainfall and an evaporation rate of almost 2,000 millimeters.
Also, high winds blew an enormous amount of sand into the nearby Yellow River, increasing
the riverbed level and flood risks.
A portion of the $80 million grant was set aside to tackle this problem.
Meanwhile, a 1+4 technique derived based on the data and experience gathered by experts
in the last six decades is being used to restore vegetation.
“One” in this equation refers to using a straw checkerboard to fix the sand, which
acts as the foundation.
While four represents the planting season (spring and autumn) and other supplementary
efforts involved, including spot sowing, container seeding, and broadcast seeding.
Since adopting this method, farmers within the region have seen the survival rate of
plants increase to 70 percent, and vegetation cover has spiked by 40 percent.
Essentially, the rampaging sand dunes have been halted, and more than 6,000 hectares
of decertified areas have been put under control.
Thanks to the 1+4 model, a once sandy area in Yanchi county, also on the Maowusu Desert's
boundary, is now blossoming with trees and grass.
In addition, forest cover has surged by two percent, old pasture grasses have resurfaced,
and the region now experiences an average of 11 dusty days annually.
Crucially, the straw checkerboard initiative has created more economic opportunities for
citizens.
During the program, officials paid out around 70 million yuan or $10 million to farmers
who make straw checkerboards.
In 2016, researchers at the Chongqing Jiaotong University announced the invention of a novel
AI technology that facilitates the conversion of deserts into farmlands.
This technology uses a plant-cellulose paste to improve the quality of desert sands so
that they can hold water, minerals, air, microorganisms, and other nutrients necessary for plant growth.
A trial was conducted with this magical paste on a 1.6-hectare plot in the Ulan Buj Desert
and the results were astonishing.
The dryland became fertile and was used to grow different crops, including corn, rice,
sunflowers, watermelon, and tomatoes.
Interestingly, scientists used the same volume of water and less amount of fertilizer required
to grow crops on normal land, but the plants still produced a higher crop yield than those
planted on arable soils.
And according to Professor Yang Qingguo of the Jiaotong University: “the costs of artificial
materials and machines for transforming sand into the soil is lower compared with controlled
environmental agriculture and reclamation.”
In the short term, converting deserts to farmland through scientific means will boost the economy
by aiding agriculture, reforestation, and natural resource management.
But in the long run, it could have devastating effects on the climate and ecological balance.
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The efforts made so far by Chinese scientists are commendable; however, the land degradation
and desertification issues are not completely solved.
But not to worry, because China has yet another plan to combat this stubborn problem.
It is not a simple plan, though; it involves building a wall just like the Great Wall of
China that exists already.
Why Is China Building Another Great Wall?
You've probably heard about the Great Wall of China.
Yeah, the same one that took two millennia to build and stretches 21,198.18 kilometers
all the way from northern China to southern Mongolia.
It measures more than half the length of the Earth’s equator.
But that's by the way.
The real news is China is building another one but this time; it's going to be called
the Green Great Wall of China because instead of bricks, the Chinese government is building
a barrier made of trees against desertification.
The idea to erect an ecological wall is part of the Three-North Shelter Forest Program
launched in 1978.
It entails planting a wall of trees across a land space of 4506 kilometers to stop the
Gobi desert from spreading into other areas.
So far, over 66 billion trees have been planted, representing the world’s largest artificial
forest.
But despite these huge efforts, experts remain doubtful about the overall effects of the
project because on one hand, desertification has been halted in some areas, but it has
continued to gain ground in others.
A study shows that only 15% of the trees planted in 1978 survived till 2004.
But all the same, the initiative is very helpful given that China’s mangrove forest has retracted
by 40% since the mid-90s and over 20% of vertebrate animal species in the country risk going extinct.
Scientists across the world have struggled to deal with degradation and desertification.
One alarming report claims that 41.3 percent of the Earth is covered by deserts, affecting
more than three billion people worldwide.
Chinese scientists seem to have found a good solution to this menace, and hopefully, their
colleagues across the world can learn and implement these techniques in their respective
countries to reverse the negative climate change trend that we’re currently experiencing
and make the world a better place.
What do you make of China’s intention to build a Green Great Wall?
Should other countries adopt this initiative?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Be sure to check out this video over here.