China's desert is shrinking: government

CLIMATE SCIENCE

by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Dec 4, 2007
China's desert area is shrinking as a result of years of forest restoration efforts, but it still accounts for more than a quarter of the country's territory, the government said Tuesday.

Desertified area decreases by 1,283 square kilometres (510 square miles) a year now, compared with an annual expansion of 3,436 square kilometres in the late 1990s, said Zhu Lieke, vice minister of the State Forestry Administration.

The government is investing two billion dollars a year in key projects to build a green belt in the north and convert some farmland to forests as part of efforts to stem the growth of the desert, Zhu told a briefing here.

However, desert still makes up 28.8 percent of China's land, he said.

Zhu said the government was taking various measures to address the problem, aiming to raise forestry coverage to 20 percent by 2010 and 23 percent by 2020.

The official Xinhua news agency said that currently China's forestry coverage was 18.2 percent, while the global level was 30 percent, according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation in March.

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

CLIMATE SCIENCE

Ancient Chinese town on front lines of desertification battle

Dunhuang, China (AFP) Nov 20, 2007
Towering sand dunes loom over the ancient Chinese city of Dunhuang like giant waves about to break, and they are already lapping at Ma Wangzhen's onion farm.

CIVIL NUCLEAR IAEA chief to visit uranium enriching plant in Brazil Investors covet Canadian nuclear energy market IAEA inspects Russian fuel for Iran: factory French, Italian energy groups reach deal on nuclear cooperation	CLIMATE SCIENCE Europe urges steeper greenhouse gas cuts Bali climate meet must show results: Pacific islands China's desert is shrinking: government Australian PM ratifies Kyoto Protocol
FARM NEWS Adapting Agriculture To Climate Change World farm output to drop due to global warming: experts Toll Of Climate Change On World Food Supply Could Be Worse Than Thought Scientists to discuss ways to 'climate-proof' crops	FLORA AND FAUNA New Hypothesis For Origin Of Life Proposed Cosmopolitan Microbes -- Hitchhikers On Darwin's Dust Fossils Excavated From Bahamian Blue Hole May Give Clues Of Early Life Leaving No Stone Unturned
ROCKET SCIENCE New Thermal Protection Technologies For Reusable Launch Vehicles To Be Validated Defense Focus: Engineer truths -- Part 1 Northrop Grumman Demonstrates New Rocket Engine Design Using Oxygen And Methane Propellants Indigenous Cryogenic Stage Successfully Qualified	NUCLEAR SPACE Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2 Outside View: Nuclear future in space Nuclear Power In Space
EARTH OBSERVATION Use Space Technology And IT For Rural Development China, Brazil give Africa free satellite land images Ministerial Summit On Global Earth Observation System Of Systems NASA-Conceived Map Of Antarctica Lays Ground For New Discoveries	TECH SPACE Five Years In Orbit For First DMC Satellite AlSAT-1 40th Anniversary Of Australia's First Satellite Blue Dye Could Hold The Key To Super Processing Power ESA And Inmarsat Sign Innovative Alphasat Satellite Contract

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement