China finds success in fighting desertification

Beijing: Desertified and sandified lands have shrunk over the past few years in China, the authorities said today, noting that despite the progress these remain serious issues for the country. By the end of 2014, there was 2.61 million square kms of desertified area in China, about 27 per cent of the whole territory, down 12,120 square kms from a previous survey in 2009, research by the State Forestry Administration showed.

China has been monitoring desertification and sandification every five years since 1995. By the end of 2014, there was 1.72 million square kilometers of sandified land, about 17.93 per cent of the national territory, down 9,902 square kilometers from 2009, it said. It was in 2004 that desertified areas started to reduce. Despite the notable progress, the monitoring results also indicate that desertification and sandification are still a serious matter, Zhang Jianlong, head of the administration said.

Launched in January last year, this fifth monitoring survey combines land surface data with satellite remote-sensing technology, and is expected to inform policy-making. Desertification is a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife.