Sustainable management-Great green wall, China

Where is the risk of desertification?

• Affects 1/3 of total land area
• Northern China most at risk as it is an arid, semi-arid and sub-humid region. (Korqin Sandy Lands)

Why are there desertification problems?

Physical:

1. High temperatures and strong winds
2. Sandy soils (highly permeable)=decreased water storage
3. Loosely structured (organic material)= increased erosion

Human:

1. Inappropriate farming practices (increased in the last 100yrs)
2. Population pressure (increased in last 100yrs)
3. Overgrazing
4. Clearing land for agriculture/timber
5. Increased irrigation (decreased water table)
6. Over-cultivated (increased deforestation)

Extent?

• China loses 5 billion tonnes of topsoil to erosion.
• Due to poor managed irrigation, 1 million km2 of land is saline.

Solution?

• To establish 350,000km2 of shelterbelt and plantation forests across North China by 2050.
• 3 main objectives:

1. To protect farmland and settlements from wind and water erosion.
2. To improve land management
3. To stabalise sand dunes and reclaim degraded land

• So far 130,000km2 have been planted.

Sustainable?

Social:

• Allows people to keep their way of life
• Boosts morale (government doing something)
• Trees are food crop, increased variety in the diet, healthier, increased Q.O.L
• Dust reduced in the air, increased health, decreased illness, increased Q.O.L

Economic:

• Crops are a source of income

Environmental:

• Makes climate less harsh by providing shelter, meaning the inter-connected food web is able to thrive.
• Shelterbelts modify micro-climates downwind.

Alternative?

Education:

• Emphasis on appropriate cultivation techniques. 
• Recycling of organic material in the soil.
• Integration of other crops.
• Planting specific tree species.

Sustainable management= It seeks to balance social, economic and environmental needs of a place.