China is at the forefront of combating desertification: the construction of a large green wall in the country’s largest desert
In the form of “another masterpiece in human history”, China has announced the completion of a 3046 km belt along Teklemekan, the country’s largest desert. According to Xinhua news agency, the project involves planting trees such as the glossy willow and black oak in a strip along the southern edge of the Teklemekan desert in Xinjiang region in northwest China.
The purpose of planting trees is to act as an ecological security wall and stop desert wind flows and sandstorms that cause significant damage to agriculture in this region.
China’s new plan is part of the Three Northern Forest Sanctuaries program, a massive initiative to stem the advance of the Gobi Desert and other dry areas through reforestation. This project was launched in 1978 and is scheduled to be completed by 2050. Once completed, it could include 100 billion trees and be the largest environmental engineering project in the world.
Some experts question the sustainability of the project, known as the Great Green Wall of China. These groups of people warn about the long-term consequences of planting trees in an area where native trees are not there, while others have argued that planting limited tree species has a negative impact on wildlife and can make forests vulnerable to disease outbreaks.
There are even concerns that tree belts may not be effective in mitigating sandstorms. However, the said initiative shows that China is taking measures against desertification, which affects more than 27% of the country’s land and about 400 million people.
