China completes 'Great Green Wall' surrounding super desert

(CLO) Taklimakan, China's largest desert and the world's second largest, is now surrounded by a green belt of many types of trees, as well as solar-powered sand blocking technology.

According to Chinese state media, the 3,050-km green belt surrounding the Taklimakan Desert was completed on November 28 after planting various types of vegetation in Yutian County, on the southern edge of the desert, including Populus euphratica (commonly known as "desert poplar"), sacsaoul and red willow.

The Taklimakan Desert covers an area of ​​337,600 km2 and a circumference of 3,046 km, making it the largest desert in China and the second largest drift desert in the world. Sandy deserts such as the Taklamakan are predominantly wind-blown dunes and are subject to frequent sandstorms, which can affect weather, agriculture, and human health.

The encirclement of the Taklamakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, an area the size of Germany, is aimed at preventing sandstorms and protecting local infrastructure, as well as boosting economic opportunities in the area.

According to Xinjiang Daily, the desert has an average annual rainfall of about 50 mm, while the evaporation rate exceeds 2,500 mm.

China has built a vast green belt with salt- and drought-tolerant plants to combat desertification in the Xinjiang region. Photo: CFOTO

There are three challenges to completing the green belt. The biggest challenge is the size of the desert. It covers about 76% of the desert area in Xinjiang and about 49% of the national desert area. Of this, the mobile dune area is about 258,400 square kilometers, and the highest part of the dune can reach about 300 meters, equivalent to a 100-story skyscraper.

Second, the dry climate and scarce rainfall make reforestation efforts more difficult. The third challenge is dust storms formed from sand.

It took more than 40 years to completely encircle the desert with green belt. By the end of 2023, the 2,761 km green belt will have connected scattered oases, leaving only the final, most challenging section.

This final stretch, some 285 kilometers long, runs through the southern part of the desert and faces the most severe sandstorm risk. Since this year, Xinjiang has been taking scientific and targeted measures to close this gap.

Besides the green belt, many efforts have been made to promote the development of sand industries, such as planting sandalwood and other crops, to benefit local people.

The belt acts as an ecological barrier and will ensure the stability of agricultural production, improve the urban living environment and promote Xinjiang's economic and social development, said Tuhti Rahman, director of the Xinjiang Regional Forestry and Grassland Bureau.

The Taklimakan Desert Control Project is part of China's Three Northern Protection Belt Forest Program (TSFP), the world's largest afforestation program to combat desertification. The TSFP was launched in 1978 and is scheduled for completion by 2050.

Since 1978, China has expanded its afforestation area by 32 million hectares under the TSFP. The afforestation area under this program is expected to cover more than 4 million square kilometers across 13 provincial-level regions by 2050, accounting for 42.4 percent of the country's total land area.

In June 2023, China proposed turning the TSFP into a complete and unbreakable "Great Green Wall".

Over the past 46 years, the forest cover ratio of TSFP-covered areas has increased from 5.05% to 13.84%. Progress has been made in controlling desertification and soil erosion, while about 30 million hectares of agricultural land have been protected.

A 57-year-old Xinjiang resident traveled 20 kilometers to witness the completion of the green belt, saying that "this green fence will definitely bring good crops to his family in the future," Xinjiang Daily reported.

Hoai Phuong (according to SCMP, Xinhua News Agency, Global Times)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/trung-quoc-hoan-thanh-van-ly-truong-thanh-xanh-bao-quanh-sieu-sa-mac-post323454.html