Desertification

The on-going over-plowing, over-grazing, denudation, and abuse of water resources in the last century have caused dramatic consequences in northwest of China and Mongolia. Desertification has accelerated forming a Chinese "dust bowl" which is sweeping most regions in Northern China as well as across national boundaries threatening Korea and Japan. Facing the advancing desert and rolling sand storm, how will the Chinese government resolve this environmental predicament?

On the web:

• http://www.din.net.cn/
  China desertification information network

• http://www.gm-unccd.org/English/About/index.htm

  The Global Mechanism (GM) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was established as an instrument to facilitate the rationalisation of resource allocation and the mobilisation of additional resources to combat land degradation and poverty. There are a lot of information how Eastern Asian countries have dealt with desertification.

In the news:

• China Losing War with Advancing Desert
  Brown, Lester

  An interesting essay published in earth policy institute website describes the current situation of desertification, analyzes the causes, and does some fascinating comparison between China and the United States.

• Grapes of Wrath in Inner Mongolia
  A May 2001 report from U.S. Embassy Beijing.

• Beijing's Desert Storm
  Gluckman, Ron

  "The desert is sweeping into China's valleys, choking rivers and consuming precious farm land. Beijing has responded with massive tree-planting campaigns, but the Great Green Walls may not be able to buffer the sand, which could cover the capital in a few years."

• The Desertification and Desert land Areas in China Shrink for the First Time

  People's Daily Online, June 15, 2005.

• Desertification in China, Mongolia a problem for Japan

  The Japan Times, Sept 29, 2005.

  "The spreading desertification in China and Mongolia is no longer just someone else's concern; it's posing a health risk in this country and affecting Japanese businesses, a senior U.N. official in charge of efforts to curb the problem said Wednesday."

• China's Growing Deserts Are Suffocating Korea
  

  French, Howard, New York Times, Apr. 12, 2002.

• China Crisis: threat to the global environment

  McCarthy, Michael from The Independent