Turning desert sand into farmland: Chinese scientists propose a revolutionary solution to desertification

Desertification, when fertile land dries into desert, is a global problem. According to Dr Steffen Bauer, an ecological expert at the Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik, as much as 40 per cent of the world is ‘dryland’. And that puts much of it in danger of desertification. Surprisingly, though fragile, these areas hold roughly 44 per cent of the world’s farms. They’re also called home by about 2 billion people, warn the editors of Governing Global Desertification.

The people who live and farm on these drylands are sitting on an ecological time bomb that’s ticking down fast. Global warming, climate change, overgrazing, and poor agricultural practices are quickly degrading the soil in these areas. China, for instance, loses about 3,366 km2 of farm and pasture to desertification every year, forcing entire villages to move or starve, reports The New York Times.

The Chinese government is aware of the problem. For years now, they’ve been planting green windbreaks in a massive strategy they call the “Three-North Shelter Forest Program” or the “Green Wall of China”. Enormous stretches of new trees, it’s hoped, can break the wind and secure the soil against erosion. But scientists have questioned this approach: planting thirsty trees in drylands can do more harm than good. And what’s needed is something truly revolutionary.

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