INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
China on Monday reached a significant milestone in desertification control by completing a barrier belt along the southeastern edge of the
Tengger Desert in its northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.In Changliushui town, located in the city of Zhongwei, workers set up the
final row of straw checkerboards, a conventional sand-fixing method, that locks the last stretch of shifting dunes in the Ningxia part of
the Tengger Desert, following a sand control task covering more than 6 decades.This conventional sand-stabilization technique includes
planting straw in a checkerboard pattern on the desert surface area to protect the sand and avoid wind disintegration
This brand-new advancement marks the conclusion of a 153-kilometer-long green barrier belt in Ningxia, which ranges from 10 to 38 kilometers
in width.Known as the desert edge-locking job, this technique was produced to support moving dunes by planting plant life belts around the
deserts border, stopping additional expansion
Sand control typically faces problems as fixed dunes can begin to move once again
To resolve this, workers plan to plant turf and desert-adapted shrubs within the checkerboard grid once the rainy season starts
When established, the vegetation is expected to protect the sand long-term
The belt works as a natural defense line versus the eastward spread of the Tengger Desert, which stretches approximately 43,000 square
kilometers.Zhongwei, located between the Qilian and Helan mountains, is the only entrance for the Tengger Deserts eastward growth
Experts state the barrier will end up being a vital ecological buffer that stops further sand advancement and protects the Yellow River.Lu
Qi, chief researcher of the Chinese Academy of Forestry, said the barrier belt can assist avoid the desert from more intruding on farmland,
towns, sanctuaries and roadways, and likewise significantly reduce the source of sandstorms.The building and construction of the green
barrier belt in Ningxia go back to the 1950s when the straw checkerboard method was developed to safeguard the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway,
Chinas first desert railway.Local authorities have dealt with research study institutions to use new innovations in sand control, such as
synthetic cyanobacteria sand crusts and improved straw checkerboards.Over the past 2 years, 2.6 billion yuan (about $363 million) has been
purchased the building and construction of the belt, part of Chinas Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the worlds largest afforestation
program to take on desertification.After generations sand control efforts over the previous decades, the city has actually ended up
desertification control on about 370,000 hectares of land, pushing the desert back by about 25 kilometers
The green barrier belt is not just a method of ecological remediation, however likewise a key practice of harmonious coexistence in between
humankind and nature, stated Lu
It also uses an essential reference for the sustainable development of arid areas worldwide
China has taken an active function in worldwide desertification control
Because signing the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 1994, the country has been a leader in halting land destruction
and reversing desertification, and has actually continuously shared sand control experience, innovations and skill abroad.In its most
current effort, the China-Central Asia desertification control cooperation center, based in Ningxia, was inaugurated in June to boost
Our goal is to inject more Chinese momentum into worldwide environmental governance and sustainable advancement, said Dong Yanbiao, deputy
He added that the center prepares to utilize innovation benefits, integrate domestic research and develop cooperation networks.(Cover: The
Yellow River and the Tengger Desert, Zhongwei City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwest China./ VCG)
