Using the Great Green Wall of China to halt desertification - Gobi Dessert

Expansion of the Gobi desert is severely impacting the agricultural livelihoods of farmers in China and is affecting the wider environment due to transboundary dust storms. The Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program (TNSFP), launched in 1978, has halted desert expansion through an ecological engineering programme of mass afforestation spanning 27.6 × 106 ha. One major impact is wind erosion of topsoil that transports millions of tons of fertile topsoil, making it unproductive. Topsoils are slowly becoming devoid of organic matter and often areas with high salt content are formed. In addition to these impacts, the Gobi desert is known as a climate hotspot with studies showing an acceleration of climate change in the desert area compared to the rest of mainland China. The transboundary impacts of the Gobi desert are mainly in the form of dust storms that affect vast areas of Northeast Asia including Japan, and North and South Korea and even include some regions in the Pacific Ocean. The widespread dust storms are known to cause serious economic impacts in these regions.