Shannan City, a semi-arid region in the southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region, has been working on a desertification control program covering more than 3,200 hectares.

Since 2005, the county's government has promoted the agricultural and animal husbandry sectors in this area, helping nearly 2,000 local farmers find jobs. According to statistics, desertification in the region decreased by 92,000 hectares between 2004 and 2014 while sandification dropped by 100,000 hectares.

After 10 years' efforts the sand has settled, greatly improving the local environment. "The effect of the sand control projects has been good. Before the launch of the control project [for] this sandy area in 2005, the sand was blown everywhere by frequent wind in different seasons throughout the year. The wind speed could reach over 24 meters per second in summer," said Chang Xuexiang, an environmental expert at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

To prevent sandstorms from spreading to other parts of the region, residents and organizations planted trees and built grids to keep the sand in place.

The average altitude of Shannan City is around 3,700 meters, which is too high an elevation for many species of plants and trees to survive. Environmentalists have to carefully select hardy flora that can withstand the altitude and environment, such as the Mulberry Tree.

"We choose plants which have better desertification control effects in the inland regions. However, we also have to consider the differences of environmental conditions like altitude between other inland regions and Tibet," Chang said.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, also known as "the roof of the world" and "the water tower of Asia," is an important guarantor of China's environmental security.

(Cover image via CFP)
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