Reprint from October 7, 2021
Last of three parts
It borrows its name from the massive stone structure built by the Qin Dynasty. But the purpose of the Green Great Wall in China is not to hold back the barbarians, it’s to stop the ever-encroaching deserts.
The following article was submitted by Antony Funnell/ABC Radio National:
“(Journalist and author, Vince) Beiser said China’s mass forestation efforts have suffered, by contrast, because of their mono-crop approach.
‘“A few years back a pest, a particular kind of beetle, hit one big chunk of the Green Great Wall and wiped out 1 billion trees almost overnight,” he said.
“In many other places they are finding that a lot of the trees simply die. They are just the wrong type of trees for that kind of environment and they just don’t last very long.’
“Researchers have identified nearly a billion hectares of land available for reforestation. Planting trees there could buy us time in the fight against climate change.
“There are differing challenges in measuring the overall effectiveness of both the Green Great Wall (in China) and the Great Green Wall (in Africa).
“In China, the evaluation system is handled by the very same state forestry department responsible for planting. Because of that, said Beiser, the figures they produce can’t be trusted.
‘“So, the Chinese government said it’s been a walloping success, that it has reduced sandstorms by a huge amount, that they’ve reclaimed enormous amounts of land, they’ve pushed back the desert and reclaimed thousands and thousands of square miles of land,’ Beiser said.
“Some of that is true to a certain extent, but it’s true that billions of these trees have died.’
“Even scientists within China have criticized the project’s mono-crop approach.
“The difficulty with measuring the effectiveness of Africa’s project is very different.
“According to Dr. Davies the problem there lies in the complexity of the scheme, and the sheer number of stakeholders involved.
“But the early signs are promising.
‘“In Niger, I think the figure now is about 7 million hectares of farmland has been put back under different forms of agroforestry,’ Dr. Davies said.
“That’s huge-scale, and you can really see the impact that is having on the lives and the stability of the farming communities.
‘“You’ve got to look at outcomes, not just in terms of the health of the land, but how that translates into impacts on people’s lives, on people’s incomes, on the overall welfare of people throughout the region.’
“The benefits of an inclusive approach
“Mohamed Bakarr, a lead environmental specialist at the Global Environment Facility, said the African project demonstrates the benefit of weaving economic and social incentives into environmental projects.
“‘It’s not just about restoring degraded areas now, it’s restoring those degraded areas and then harnessing them to transform the livelihoods of the people, as well as addressing their food scarcity problems.
“You can’t pursue one goal and ignore the other, they have to be interlinked. Solutions have to be integrated, but the outcomes will deliver for all the three goals because at the end of the day you want the system to be resilient.
‘“By restoring land, we store carbon, and we restore biodiversity at the same time, while responding to multiple benefits for local communities,’ he said.
‘“So, we have a wonderful opportunity right now to actually build something that will be a symbol for future generations.’
“Next year marks the end of the UN-designated Decade for Deserts. The year 2021, however, will see the commencement of the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration,” Antony Funnell wrote.