By Andrew Arkle
Desertification is a contemporary problem, exacerbated by human-driven climate change and the mismanagement of natural resources. Efforts are underway worldwide to remediate and reverse desertification, with some successes.
This blog looks at some of these initiatives, specifically, the Great Green Wall (Africa), the Loess Plateau (China), and Ningxia Hui (China).
Each of these three actions aligns with TERRASAFE’s goal of combating desertification, which, as our project highlights, can only happen through collective, integrated action.
The Great Green Wall
Launched in 2007 by the African Union, the Great Green Wall is Africa’s flagship response to desertification. Its goal is to develop 8000km of continuous green belt across the width of Africa, running through 11 countries. Once successful, this will become the largest living structure in the world, three times the size of the Great Barrier Reef. Establishing this green belt involves extensive tree planting and the restoration and conservation of farmland and grassland, all aimed at benefiting local communities.
Established due to climate- and land management-driven declines in the quality of arable land, the project aims to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land. It will also contribute to carbon sequestration and provide millions of green jobs to areas with often very young populations.
Progress has been slower than hoped for, with security and funding issues stalling the project. However, in Senegal, between 2008 and 2021, 57,000 hectares were officially reforested, with 18 million hectares restored across the project.
The programme has a participatory approach, aiming to “contribute to the eradication of poverty, to ensure growth and sustainable development through … participatory and integrated management of natural resources and the environment in the Sahara-Sahel region” Amadou Diallo, who heads up the African Union Development Agency’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD).
The Great Green Wall’s success in project development and implementation highlights the benefits of collaboration for an integrated landscape approach, offering social and economic opportunities for communities in the area, some of which are among the most impoverished in the world. Local people gain food, medicine, and income from the project, which, if successful in the long term, will help sustain the population.
Loess Plateau restoration in China
China has been historically susceptible to desertification, with over a quarter of the country regarded as desert.
One of the world’s most successful projects to reverse desertification is the restoration of the Loess Plateau, a dryland area the size of France that, that, according to ecologist John D. Liu, was the most eroded place on Earth. The project was driven by a desire to make the area agriculturally productive and provide opportunities for employment, income generation, and to prevent the growing problem of dust storms.
The methods used to achieve this include terracing, vegetation restoration, the construction of weirs, and afforestation (planting trees in areas that have had none for a long time). These have been implemented through engagement with the local population across several generations. The resulting sustainable farming practices contribute to its socioeconomic and environmental success.
The project has helped lift 2.5 million people out of poverty and significantly improved incomes in the area. 84.1% of ecosystems have experienced positive changes in plant productivity.
You can read more about it and see images of progress here.
How can straw checkerboards reverse desertification?
Forestry workers in the Ningxia Hui area of China have long been fighting desertification, which threatened farmland and settlements. Desertification also affected water quality and increased downstream flood risk, as sediment from degraded lands flowed into the Yellow River.
The forestry workers’ approach has been to control desertification through vegetation restoration and natural regeneration, providing protective shelterbelt plantations with ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
An innovative system using straw checkerboards (a local sand-fixing method) and seasonal planting has slowed down erosion by stabilising sand and reducing wind erosion. These methods have increased vegetation cover and helped protect important farmland and infrastructure.
The video below shows the process in action.
32,351 hectares of degraded land have been improved and land degradation reversed, evidenced by a 28% increase in vegetation cover and improved soil quality, including vegetation diversity.
The scheme has also employed thousands of people, with carbon sequestration from it set to exceed 88,000 tonnes. The solution offers a sustainable, cost-effective approach to combating desertification in this area. A great deal of this project’s success stems from the development and use of local practices.
We have reason for optimism
The examples shared here show that it is possible to prevent and reverse desertification, especially where there is a deep understanding of the issues and a collective willingness to adopt collaborative, integrated approaches that empower local stakeholders.
TERRASAFE aims to be part of the solution in Europe and North Africa, by testing innovations in local communities experiencing unprecedented desertification. We seek to develop nature-based, technological, and social solutions to help people at the forefront of desertification combat the growing threat to their soils, food systems, and livelihoods. Find out more about our chosen innovations here.
We hope that our project, alongside all these wider efforts, will be successful in recovering land so that it once again sustains biodiversity, livelihoods, and sustainable food production.
Andrew Arkle was a placement student based within the Countryside & Community Research Institute at the University of Gloucestershire, UK, as part of TERRASAFE’s WP6.