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Deserts Eat Up China's Usable Land

In arid provinces, farms and families feel pinch of policy gone awry

By Heather McPherson,  Newser User

Posted Aug 16, 2007 5:03 PM CDT
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(Newser) – With China's deserts spreading another 950 square miles each year, the government is evicting families and replanting farms to stem the tide, the Christian Science Monitor reports from Gansu province. With 20% of the world's population but 7% of its arable land, China's decades-old problem has worsened due to overfarming, deforestation and global warming.

Some farmers leave willingly; others are frustrated about being forced out with little compensation. To curb desertification, the government planted billions of trees—but that only adds to the larger problem of ever-diminishing water sources. "I have no option," says one farmer. "The government tells me to move and won't listen to us."

A farmer passes a crop field in Minqi, Gansu province, China, March 17, 2007. In a problem that's pervasive in much of China, overfarming has drawn down the water table so low that desert is overtaking farmland. Authorities have ordered farmers here in Gansu province to vacate their properties over...
A farmer passes a crop field in Minqi, Gansu province, China, March 17, 2007. In a problem that's pervasive in much of China, overfarming has drawn down the water table so low that desert is overtaking...   (Associated Press)
Villagers use straw to try to stop the encroachment of sand dunes near their homes in Waixi Village, in Minqin County, in northwest China's Gansu province Thursday, July 12, 2007. Villagers bury straw and wood in the dune to stop them moving. Over-farming in the area has drawn down the...
Villagers use straw to try to stop the encroachment of sand dunes near their homes in Waixi Village, in Minqin County, in northwest China's Gansu province Thursday, July 12, 2007. Villagers bury straw...   (Associated Press)
Blades of grass grow through dried up farm land in Minqin County, in northwest China's Gansu province, Thursday, July 12, 2007. Villagers bury straw and wood in the dune to stop them moving. Over-farming in the area has drawn down the water table so low that desert is overtaking farmland...
Blades of grass grow through dried up farm land in Minqin County, in northwest China's Gansu province, Thursday, July 12, 2007. Villagers bury straw and wood in the dune to stop them moving. Over-farming...   (Associated Press)
A child walks on the sand dune in Waixi, Gansu province, China, March 17, 2007. In a problem that's pervasive in much of China, overfarming has drawn down the water table so low that desert is overtaking farmland. Authorities have ordered farmers in Gansu province to vacate their properties over...
A child walks on the sand dune in Waixi, Gansu province, China, March 17, 2007. In a problem that's pervasive in much of China, overfarming has drawn down the water table so low that desert is overtaking...   (Associated Press)
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