African experts in the fields of ecology and environmental protection plant camphor pines at a tree-planting base in the Mu Us Desert in Yulin, Shaanxi province, last month. (Photo by Ma Teng/For China Daily) More than 30 experts from eight African countries recently visited the Mu Us Desert in Yulin, Shaanxi province, to learn about desertification control from local officials. Various strategies and initiatives have been implemented to combat desertification in Yulin.
The average forestation rate in the city has increased from 0.9 percent in 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, to 36 percent, while 93 percent of the sand land in the city has been brought under control, according to the city government. The Mu Us Desert, in North China's Ordos Plateau, spans parts of Shaanxi and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and is one of the four major sand lands in China.
Thanks to decades of efforts by governments and residents, more than 80 percent of the sand land in the desert has been brought under control, with the forestation rate reaching 30 percent, Xinhua News Agency reported. During their field trip, organized by the Ministry of Commerce and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the African experts visited tree farms, desertification control centers and photovoltaic and wind power stations from April 17 to 20. They also gained first-hand experience in planting sand-binding vegetation and constructing windbreaks.
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