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The Gobi is the world’s third largest desert, covering most of Mongolia and much of northern China. Local governments point to decades of deforestation and overgrazing as the main culprits behind the region’s desertification problem.
On Friday (27 April), the Mongolian Cabinet has decided to establish the Green Gobi Development Foundation. The idea comes from President Kh.Battulga. The cabinet has tasked the ministries to establish the foundation and to implement the ‘Mongolian Green Wall’ – a national programme for combating desertification. The ‘Green Gobi Development’ Foundation will be established by merging the already existing ‘Mongolian Green Wall’ Foundation with the ‘Mongolia-Kuwait Research Centre’ which conducts researches in environment and tourism and trainings and promotional actions on eco-tourism development.
Home to the world’s highest sand dunes (more than 300 metres), most of the Gobi is a dry gravely plain. The landscape challenges residents with extreme cold (to -40C), hot summers (to 40C), periodic droughts and minimal surface water.
China’s policymakers have tried various ways to combat the sand blowing off an expanding Gobi. The most visible of these efforts is a belt of trees, nicknamed the Great Green Wall, planted across China’s north that will eventually stretch for 4,500km and contain 100bn trees to shield Beijing from the neighbouring desert.
willemm 2018-04-27 81.155.127.109
Why the need for expensive, time-wasting research when there is already extensive knowledge of the way to help bind desert soils from expanding and being blown into the atmosphere. The use of 'trees' sounds misleading when the most effective of plants for greening and soil-binding are the lower growing shrubs. These send networks of roots laterally to collect enough moisture to sustain them. In doing so they bind loose sandy soils so helping prevent them from being sucked up into strong thermal air currents that disperse them further afield, thus increasing desertification.
A small but well proven example of how this works is found at a tree and shrub nursery in Mandalgobi, Dundgovi Province. It's called Gobi Oasis, where for 40 years they have been growing a variety of drought-resistant trees and shrubs. The most common is the Saxaul, found widely in its natural habitat. Once established – and this may take a year or two, don't underestimate the time and effort even such hardy plants need to become rooted – they provide greenery, flowers in season, and shelter for wildlife. Importantly their roots bind the soil, providing enough moisture to conserve it and to conserve what little rain or moisture nature provides.
For a truly large scale example of success taming a similar desert just across the border in Inner Mongolia, there's the Kubuqi Desert. That success came from private finance and took many years to attain, but illustrates clearly that – given the funding and support necessary – it can be done. But is has to involve local people who can financially gain from it as well. Google china-greening-kubuqi-desert-land-restoration/ for more information.