Three centuries to save China from the curse of desertification
At the current rate of progress it will take 300 years to turn back China's advancing deserts, a senior official has said, bemoaning low levels of investment in fighting a growing environmental menace.
Over a quarter of China's land area is covered by desert, or land turning to desert, putting crops and water supplies at risk for the world's second-largest economy. "The area being desertified is enormous, and prevention work most hard," Liu Tuo, head of China's anti-desertification efforts, said. "There is about 1.73 million square kilometres of desertified land in China, and about 530,000 of that can be treated. At our present rate of treating 1,717 sq-km a year, I've just calculated we'll need 300 years," he added.
"Investment is seriously insufficient, with a huge gap existing for our needs," Mr Liu said.